When Phoenix's Cry
by blueskywillow
Summary: Sequel to The Magic Charm. With the end of the 'Magic Charm' project begins a relationship that sends Lily and James on a whirlwind of romance and drama. But there's a new project causing everyone to be in danger.
1. Chapter 1

Welcome new and old readers. I really recommend you read **The Magic Charm** before you read this as its sort of the second part of the story. For those who are old readers I am really sorry this took me so long to get up. Just the usual things keeping me back like School, work and guys. All the horrible things :-) Anyway I'll get on with it.

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Disclaimer: I own nothing that you find familiar from the Harry Potter books as that is all JK Rowlings creation not mine. The only thing that is mine is the story idea.

When Phoenix's Cry

Chapter 1

Lily smiled as she walked through the beautiful corridor. She couldn't suppress the smile on her face and she didn't want too. She stopped a few times to look at the exquisite French paintings. One caught her eye of a handsome prince watching a beautiful princess. She gazed at it for a while before being startled by a voice.

"It's a nice painting, isn't it?" Lily looked at the person who owned the voice and smiled another wide smile at seeing her best friend.

"Hestia don't scare a person like that." Lily said before turning back to the picture. "Is it just me or does that prince like really familiar?" Lily said as she took a step back and squinted. Hestia looked at her oddly.

"I suppose he looks a bit familiar." Hestia said. She had creamy skin with coffee eyes and long black hair. She had a small mole on her left cheek.

"It's his hair that gives away the real similarity." Lily said thoughtfully. "But once you notice that then you can see that the nose, chin and … lips are the same." Lily said with a slight smile.

"You've gone over the edge, haven't you?" Hestia asked looking at her friend oddly. "When you fell you banged your head didn't you? You should have got Alice to look at you, Lily." Hestia said taking Lily by the arm and leading her away from the painting.

Hestia was of course talking about the battle that had happened the day before, in which James and Lily had come face to ghostly face with Voldemort. Lily had fallen to the ground after being knocked over by James and a fighting deatheater, causing a very important amulet to be broken. Not that Lily really minded, considering Voldemort had wanted it very badly and would obviously be very upset that he had never been given it.

"I'm fine, Hes." Lily said with a chuckle.

"Are you sure?" Hestia asked as she put her hand to Lily's head. Lily waved her away.

"Yes now can we go get something to eat, I'm a bit parched." Lily said. Hestia looked at Lily once more then nodded in agreement. When they reached the large dining mostly everyone was there. From the medi-wizards to the Aurors and the Unspeakables. Lily stopped before walking into the room, as this had been the very room that she and James had encountered Voldemort. Hestia, who had walked a few steps in front of her, noticed that her friend was no longer beside her. Hestia turned to her.

"Lil, What's wrong?" Hestia asked. Lily looked around the room and the memory of what had happened the previous day came back to her.

Just as James pointed his wand at Nott there was a flash of blinding light and James tried to shield his eyes. Lily screamed.

Suspended in mid air was a tall, thin, pale man with horrific red eyes and slits for nostrils. It was Voldemort. But he wasn't real because Lily could see the portrait through him. It was like he was a ghost but he couldn't have been.

"Where is the amulet?" He asked in a thunderous voice. There was silence.

"The girl has it." Nott replied. Voldemort turned his eyes on Lily. Lily could feel pain running through her.

"Give it to me!" He demanded.

"N-No!" Lily stuttered. As Lily said this James fell to the ground and started screaming in pain. "James!" Lily screamed. She looked at Nott to see that his wand was upon James.

"You will give it!" Voldemort shouted.

"It's shattered." Lily screamed at him. "You can't do much with it now." Lily said as she pointed towards the red fragments of glass. Voldemort let out a deafening roar that shook the chateaux.

"NOTT YOU FOOL!" Voldemort screamed. "This isn't over!" He said directing his words to Lily. "Come you fools." Voldemort said as he disappeared. Nott disapparated after his master and James stopped screaming in pain. Lily crawled over to him. There were tears streaming down her face at seeing James lying there motionless. She took his head and put it in her lap. She checked to see if he was still alive - he was. Lily cried even harder. There was a lot of blood around James' left shoulder and some blood coming out of his mouth.

Lily paled as she remembered this. It had been the scariest moment of her life and it had happened in that very room. And now she was forced to go back into it and eat breakfast as if nothing had happened.

James had been eating his breakfast as he noticed Lily walked into the room. A smile formed on his face but it soon disappeared as he noticed Lily stare at the far wall. It had been where Voldemort had stood the day before. James sat down his knife and fork and got up from his seat, making it scrape across the floor. He walked over to Lily; he stood in front of her for a few moments trying to catch her gaze. He resorted to putting a hand under her chin and forcing her eyes to look up into his own.

"I can't go into that room." Lily said barely above a whisper.

"I know. But you need to get something to eat." James said quietly. "We both worked up quite an appetite." He said as a small smile appeared across his lips. Lily blushed and smiled also. Hestia had sat down as soon as James walked up to Lily; so hadn't heard this but she was keeping a watchful eye upon the pair, as were many other people.

"I may be hungry, but I can't go into that room." Lily said once more as her eyes darted about the room.

"Lily he isn't going to appear in the same place twice. It's not his style." James said gently. Lily looked into his eyes and saw compassion and concern in those hazel orbs. His hair was attractively messy and all Lily wanted to do was run her hands through it as she had done the night before. A small smile passed her lips and she nodded. James smiled and walked towards his seat, Lily followed and sat opposite him in the seat beside Hestia. Hestia looked at her best friend curiously.

"What was that all about?" Hestia asked Lily in a whisper. Lily looked at her friend.

"I just got a little freaked." Lily said also in a whisper.

"Oh, I'm sorry I never thought." Hestia said apologetically. Lily smiled appreciatively at her friend. She scooped some cereal from a bowl in the middle of the table and put it into her own bowl before adding some milk. Just then Sirius sat down on the other side of Lily.

"Good morning all." Sirius said cheerfully. James eyed his friend carefully.

"Why are you so happy?" He asked.

"It's a beautiful day. We all survived yesterday's attack and Voldie never got his precious necklace. It makes me feel pink inside." Sirius added with a chuckle. Hestia rolled her eyes at him. "So when do we go home?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Why are you so eager to leave?" Lily asked as she finished her cereal.

"People to see, places to be." Sirius said with a knowing smirk. Lily chuckled as James smiled and rolled his eyes. However, Hestia pretended to not be paying attention.

"I'm waiting on an owl from the Ministry giving us the all clear to come back." James said as he pushed his plate aside. He gave a slight wince as he stretched his arms.

"Are you all right?" Lily immediately asked. James smirked.

"I'm fine. I just slept funny, what with being stabbed and all." James said a cute shrug. A smile passed Lily's lips.

"I thought you were given the all clear?" Hestia asked as she buttered some toast.

"He was but it's seems he over-exerted himself erm working out." Sirius said with a grin. James chuckled, as he knew what his best mate was getting at. Lily blushed and tried to hide it by dabbing at her mouth with her napkin.

"Don't be so crude at the breakfast table." Hestia said with disgust. Sirius smirked.

"This table seen a lot, I think it could handle a few innuendo's." Sirius said looking at Hestia with a grin. Hestia glared at him.

"Am I missing something?" Lily asked looking between the two. That's when James understood and pushed his chair back in disgust. Sirius chuckled as James quickly stood up.

"This room has seen a lot then." James said as an owl was let into the room. It headed straight for James and dropped a letter off before heading off again. James read the letter before clearing his throat.

"Can I have your attention please?" James waited until there was silence before continuing, "I have good and bad news. The good is that there is no more to be done here, the bad is that we need to leave within the hour." There were murmurs throughout the group.

"Why so fast?" Marlene McKinnon asked.

"The ministry fear that we may be attacked if we stay any longer as there are deatheaters that know of our position." James said. "We have –" he looked at his watch, "-23 minutes before the portakey takes us back to the ministry. Could everyone please gather their items and meet in the ball room in 15 minutes, please." James said. He then turned to Frank Longbottom to say something.

"Let's go Lily." Hestia said standing up. Lily looked at James and Frank who appeared to be having an argument.

"I'll be right up, Hes." Lily said as she pushed out her chair. Hestia shrugged and walked out of the dining room, as did Sirius. Lily walked around the table and stood beside James and Frank, who instantly stopped bickering. "What's wrong?" Lily asked curiously as she looked at the two men.

"Nothing." James said quickly as Frank clenched his jaw. "Why don't you go pack?" James suggested.

"I am packed James, you were there when I done it this morning." Frank looked at James with his eyes raised. James face remained stony. "Now what's wrong?" Lily asked again.

"You can't hide this from her, so stop trying." Frank said to James. James's expression didn't change as Frank handed Lily the piece of parchment that James had been reading a few moments before.

"Oh my Merlin!" Lily said as she read it. "This was my fault." Lily said as tears came to her eyes.

"It's not!" James said adamantly. "This is why I didn't want her to know." James shot at Frank.

"She would've found it. It's probably plastered all over the papers anyway." Frank said.

"All those people died because of…" Lily trailed off as she stared at the ground.

"Don't even think it. You saved lives yesterday." James said as he put a finger under lily's chin. "He did this out of anger. Voldemort did this not you." James said. Lily stared blankly up into his eyes. "You saved a lot more people by destroying the charm." James said gently. Frank watched the pair as Lily's hands shook and James tried to calm her down.

"James, why don't you take Lily upstairs to get her stuff." Frank said. James nodded and put his arm around Lily's shoulders and led her upstairs. Frank sighed as he watched the pair go.

"Is everything okay?" A cheery voice asked. Frank turned to the voice and smiled.

"Of course, Alice. Have you got everything packed?" Frank asked. Alice walked into the room and nodded.

"Yes." She said as she held up the luggage bag in her hand. "Why can't they just transport the bags the way they did yesterday?" Alice said with a sigh as she sat down in one of the seats. She had lengthy brown her and beautiful dark eyes. Frank sat down beside her.

"We need to take precautions." Was all Frank said. Alice shrugged and then smiled at Frank. She then leaned over and kissed him on the lips. He smiled and gave her a bewildered look.

"What was that for?" Frank asked.

"Can't I kiss my Fiancé?" Alice asked with a smile. "That sounds good." She said with a chuckle. Frank smiled and took Alice's left hand. "It's beautiful." Alice said as she looked down dreamily at the 24-carat gold ring with a square cut diamond in the middle and two sapphires on both sides.

"I'm glad you like it." Frank said. There was silence as the pair glowed happily. "You don't think - it was too soon do you?" Frank asked as he looked at Alice. She smiled and shook her head.

"It wasn't soon enough." Alice said as she put her hand to Frank's face and stroked his cheek gently. Frank stood up, Alice's hand still clutched in his own.

"Let's go get my bags." Frank said as he walked out of the dinning room.

A while later the group gathered around the assigned portakeys, which had arrived a few minutes before they had to leave. Lily had wiped her eyes and applied some make up to look as if she had never been in distress. Everyone had shrunk his or her belongings so that it was a lot easier to use the portakey. Finally it was time for the potakey to transport the group back to the ministry and it did with a great lurch forward. Lily opened her eyes to find herself in a large boardroom. She stood still until a moment of wanting to be sick passed.

"You okay?" Edgar Bones asked as he looked at Lily's pale face. Lily nodded her head.

"Just motion sickness. Never did like travelling by portakey." Lily said with a chuckle. Lily watched as James scratched his head and said something to Sirius, who laughed.

"Lily, Bagnold wants to talk to us." Frank said as he walked towards her. He then turned to the large group. "Could you leave all possessions to the lock up then you will be free to go home. You have today and tomorrow off. But I expect to see you all in on time on Thursday." Frank said. There was a round of "Thank Merlin" and "My bed is calling my name!" obviously from Hestia. Lily rolled her eyes as Sirius's widened. Lily and James walked with Frank towards the lift.

"It feels like we just started this bloody mission." Lily said as she rubbed her eyes. James looked at her worriedly.

"I'm glad it's over. It was two months too long." Frank said as the lift doors opened as they stepped in. Frank touched his wand to the number 1 button. It didn't stop until it reached that floor. Lily stepped out first and nearly bumped into Amelia Bones.

"Oh sorry Amelia." Lily apologised. Amelia smiled and shook her head.

"I take it you guys got back all right then." Amelia said as James and Frank walked out of the lift. James looked at Amelia questioningly. "Everybody knows, especially after…" She trailed off.

"Oh." Lily said quietly as she looked at the ground. James put a hand on her shoulder and rubbed it gently. Amelia looked at the pair oddly.

"Well I better get going." Amelia said with a smile as she entered the lift. They said their goodbyes and Lily, James and Frank walked towards Bagnold's office. The secretary told them to go on in as the minister had been waiting for them.

"Please sit." The Minister said as she pointed to three chairs. Lily sat in the middle as Frank and James sat on either side. "I'm glad you all got back safely. We were very lucky to have such little causalities," James and Frank nodded as Lily sat in silence. "If it weren't for you three then this never would have been found and the magical community will always be in your debt. But unfortunately the project has to end, as you know. You will go back to your normal jobs. Frank as Head of Law Enforcement and James as an Auror Group leader." Millicent Bagnold said. The Minister, was a tall powerful looking woman who seemed to be in her late fifties with grey hair and puissant green eyes. There was no mention of Lily and James was about to say something when he remembered something she had said a few days before. _After this mission you won't have to deal with me at all. I'm going back to America. I've been offered a better job._ His heart sank as he remembered this. He was going to lose Lily for a third time - something he wasn't going to let happen.

"You will return to your jobs on Thursday, where your current replacements will fill you in on all you have missed. There is very little paper work to fill out as Lily did most of it before you left. All you need to do is sign it." Bagnold said as she set five sheets of paper at the end of her desk. James took a pen from her desk and signed each sheet then handed the pen to Frank who also signed it. "The project has now ended." Bagnold said with a small smile. "I am sure you are angry about this." Frank and James nodded. "But an alternative has been set up. You will be contacted soon about this." James and Frank looked at each other oddly, as the minister was being very vague about what was happening. "Now if that is all you may leave." Frank, James and Lily stood up. "Lily can I talk to you for a minute." Bagnold said. Lily nodded her head.

"I'll meet you in the break room, then we can go home together." James said to Lily. Lily nodded as she sat down in the seat she had been sitting in before. Once Frank and James left the room Bagnold gave Lily a warm smile.

"Have you thought anymore about what I asked you?" Bagnold asked. Lily nodded her head. There was silence before Lily let out a huge sigh.

"I don't know what to do." Lily said. "I really want to take the job and I want to do anything to stop _him_. But I can't stay in a place where there is continuos suffering and death – especially if it is my actions that caused it."

"Last night's attacks were not your fault." Bagnold said strongly. "Voldemort is sick and twisted. Those people died because he acted like a spoilt child who never got the present he wanted. Those people died at his wand not yours." Bagnold said as she looked at Lily who looked past Bagnold and at a painting on the wall behind her.

"You are a smart and very powerful witch. And I know you left Hogwarts at the top of you class, which in any community is a great achievement. We would benefit greatly with having you as part of our team. And I know one person who would be extremely happy if you took the job." There was silence as Lily mulled this over. "You may not think this, but you can make a difference here."

James took a sip from his teacup as he waited for it too cool down. Sirius was sitting opposite him at the table reading the Daily Prophet. He had been told of the deatheater attacks earlier that morning by James so wasn't shocked to read about them in the paper. But he was still very angry at what he read.

"I still can't get over this." Sirius said angrily.

"It's horrible, isn't it?" A female voice said as she sat down at the table. Sirius and James smiled at Amelia.

"Did anyone survive?" Sirius asked.

"Not that I know off." Amelia said with a sigh. Sirius closed the paper and pushed it aside, unable to read anymore.

"So Amelia, how are you?" Sirius asked pleasantly.

"I am fine. And you?" She asked courteously.

"Could be better." Sirius said with a shrug. "What about you James? How are you?" Sirius asked with a smile.

"I'm okay." James said with a chuckle.

"Just okay?" Amelia asked. "I thought you would be feeling ecstatic." James looked at her curiously. "You foiled the bad guys plot at domination." Amelia said with a smile.

"More like tired." James said as he yawned.

"But I thought you spent last night resting after your injured shoulder." Amelia said innocently. James blushed as Sirius laughed.

"Jamie rested all right. You looked very relaxed this morning coming out of Evans' room." Sirius said with a barking laugh. Amelia chuckled. James looked at Amelia awkwardly.

"Don't James. You and I were a long time ago. You shouldn't feel awkward around me." Amelia said with a smile. James smiled and looked down at his tea. Just then the door opened and Lily walked in. She sighed as she sat down between Amelia and James.

"I am so tired." Lily said with a yawn, which caused Amelia and Sirius to laugh and James to smile. Lily looked at them oddly.

"Did you guys hear? I'm moving up to your floor." Amelia said excitedly as she changed the subject. "I've joined Law Enforcement. I start Monday." James and Sirius congratulated her.

"Monday?" Lily asked. "We don't get to work with each other then." Lily said disappointedly.

"So you -" Amelia began.

"Yeah." Lily quickly said with a small smile. She looked at James who was looking curiously at her. "I think I wanna go home." Lily said. James nodded and the pair stood up. Lily turned to Sirius. "If you dare show up at all today, I will kill you." Lily said tiredly. "I am not making Lunch, Dinner, Tea, Supper or any other meal time you have. I plan on sleeping all day and I do not want to be disturbed." Lily said with a smile.

"You here that James. She doesn't want to be disturbed." Sirius said with a grin.

"He's a welcome distraction, you are not. Now go talk to Hestia and sort out the mess you made yesterday." Lily said. Sirius looked at her oddly.

"How'd you know bout that?" Sirius asked.

"I have my ways." Lily said as she walked out of the room followed by James. A while later the pair arrived at their home through floo powder. Lily plopped down on the couch with a sigh. James stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do or say. He had so much he wanted to tell her and there was so much he wanted her to tell him.

"You're going to America aren't you?" James finally said after a while. Lily opened her eyes and looked at him for a few moments.

"I have no reason to stay … do I?" Lily asked. James looked at the ground and then back at Lily.

"You have me." He said quietly. "I want you to stay." Lily looked at him carefully.

"I'm not going." Lily said. "I wanted you to want me to stay." James grinned as he heard this.

"You'll stay?" James asked confoundedly. Lily nodded with a smile.

"I don't like leaving you. I cried when I left after Hogwarts. And my heart broke when I walked out of your hotel room in New York. I'm scared of what will happen if I leave for a third time." Lily said. James sat down on the coffee table opposite her.

"I should have made you stay the first time." James said as he touched her cheek. "I've wasted five years of my life without you and I don't want to miss another minute." James said with a smile.

"We're together now, aren't we?" Lily asked. James smiled.

"Yeah. I'm not going anywhere and neither are you." James said with a smile. "Just like we promised each other last night."

"I'm madly in love with you, you know that right?" Lily asked with a smile as she felt James's lips brush against her own.

"I think you told me that a few times last night. But it's nice to hear it again." James said in a whisper as he kissed her neck. "I love you too." He said as he moved back up to capture her lips in a deep, passionate yet gentle kiss. Lily pulled away after a few moments.

"I hate to be a downer but… I'm a bit tired. Last night took quite a toll on me." Lily said with a smile causing James to grin. "I just want to fall asleep in your arms." Lily said as she yawned. James nodded, took her hand and stood up.

"Let's go to bed." He said as he led her upstairs. They stopped as they faced two doors on opposite sides of the corridor. One was Lily's room and the other was James'.

"Which room?" James asked as Lily rested her head on his shoulder.

"I really don't care." Lily said tiredly. James kissed the top of her head then led her into his room. The pair undressed and got into James's bed. James tucked the blankets around Lily and him and wrapped his arms around her as she lay her head on his chest. She had beautiful soft skin that made him tingle as her cheek touched his chest. He couldn't help but feel so happy and relaxed at having the red head in his arms. He had dreamed of this for years and finally it had come true.

"I love you." Lily whispered as she drifted of to sleep. James grinned.

"I love you too. Sweet dreams." James whispered as he too drifted off to sleep.

Thank you for reading. And can I just say a huge thank you to all those who reviewed **The Magic Charm**

Please Review

Eimear


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys I'm sorry this took a month to get up but I had my exams! Don't talk to me about them, I so know I failed! Oh I just realised that I started 'The Magic Charm' this time last year. Wow how time flies!!!! Anyway I'll let you guys get on with reading this.

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Disclaimer: I own nothing that you find familiar from the Harry Potter books as that is all JK Rowlings creation not mine. The only thing that is mine is the story idea.

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Chapter 2

Lily snuggled closer into the warm chest hoping that some of that warmth could rub off on her but to no avail. She sighed as she opened her eyes and looked towards the window. The curtains had not been closed and she could see clearly out of the window. It must have been late afternoon as the sun was low in the sky. She sighed heavily once again and looked at the figure lying beside her. James was asleep and Lily desperately envied him for being so, but she couldn't sleep any longer. She kissed his chest, causing him to let out a soft moan from the back of his throat. She chuckled as she got out of the bed, but winced as her feet touched the cold floor. _What were you thinking getting wooden floors instead of carpet?_ Lily thought as she stood up and stretched letting the afternoon sun wash over her. She located her clothes and put them on then left the room after a desirous look at James and headed to her own room to have a shower.

After 30 minutes of showering and drying Lily headed down stairs to the kitchen. She smiled as she saw James leaning against the breakfast bar reading the Daily Prophet.

"You're up." Lily said as she walked towards the kettle to make herself a cup of tea.

"You're finally out of the shower." James said with a smirk as he turned to look at her.

"Well some of us actually take pride in our appearance." Lily said as her eyes travelled along James's tall frame. His hair was the usual pile of mess that lay atop is head. His dark hazel eyes were hidden behind his wire-framed glasses he used for reading and his lips were turned up in an amused smile. Her eyes travelled further down to look at his perfectly tanned chest that was untouched by clothing. She bit her lips as her eyes travelled further down to see that he was wearing a pair of navy sweat pants. He wore nothing on his feet. Her eyes travelled back up to his face to see that he had been watching her with a smile upon his face. She blushed and turned around to grab two mugs from the cupboard. She grinned as she felt his arms wrap around her. She giggled as she felt him kiss a sensitive spot on her neck. "That tickles." Lily said as she tried to push James away.

"Well it's not supposed to hurt." James laughed. Lily rolled her eyes and pushed him away giving him a satisfied smile.

"Go read your paper." Lily said playfully as James pouted. He did as he was told and turned back round to the paper. "You want some tea?" Lily asked.

"Please." James said as he turned the page of the Prophet. "They've added a new wing to the hospital." James said as he read one of the articles. "It's called the Bosgrowth wing, named after Daisy Bosgrowth. She donated money to the hospital after having wings removed from her back." James said with a chuckle.

"I wonder how she got the wings in the first place?" Lily said thoughtfully as she set a mug of tea in front of James and stood beside him with her own mug. She held it in her hands for a while as she blew on it to cool it down. James looked at her with an eyebrow raised and an odd smile across his lips.

"You think of the strangest things. Normal people would have pondered how much money she donated." James said with a shake of his head.

"Well it is my job to notice things out of the ordinary." Lily said with a smile as she finally sipped at her tea.

"Which reminds me. If you're gonna be staying here, which I'm very glad you'll be doing." James said with a grin. "Then we need to find you a job." Lily was about to say something but James interrupted her. "Now I know I'm probably not much help but I will help." James said as he put an arm around Lily's waist. Lily grinned as she tilted her head.

"I don't need help in finding a job." Lily said with a smile.

"I agree. You shouldn't get a job at all." James said with a smile and a shake of his head. Lily looked at him oddly. "You could stay at home all day and wait for me to come home. Once I arrive home we can have sex all night long. Then you won't be too tired the next night when we make mad passionate love again because you have from nine to five to rest. But I just might come home at lunch time to fuel your thirst for me." James said with a grin. The grin remained as Lily went into peels of laughter. After a few moments James spoke again. "I didn't think you'd go for it." He said with an innocent shrug and a smile.

"And you say I think of strange things." Lily said as her laughter slowly subsided.

"That's why we're meant to be." James said with a corny grin. "But we still need to find you a job." James said as he took one arm from Lily's waist to pick up his mug of tea.

"I don't need to find a job. I already have one." Lily said with a smile. James looked at her questioningly as he put down his mug after drinking from it.

"Since when?" James asked.

"This morning. Well actually Saturday, that's when it was offered to me." Lily said as she sipped at her tea that remained in her hands.

"It's gonna be a bit tiring for you if you apparate back and forth between here and America." James said seriously as he looked down at her. Lily chuckled lightly as she put down her mug beside James'.

"It's not in America. It's right here at the Ministry. They offered me the position of Head of International Magical office of Law." Lily said with a shrug. "And I accepted it." She added slowly as James looked at her in shock.

"You're the one who got the job?" He asked, as his face remained neutral.

"Yeah, is that a problem?" Lily asked quietly as she looked at James worriedly. A grin covered his face though.

"Is that a problem? Of course not! That's great news! We'll be able to see each other whenever we want – when we aren't bogged down with work that is. And I can keep a close eye on you to make sure you don't get into trouble." James said excitedly.

"Hey, I don't need to be watched." Lily said indignantly. James grinned, however, and leaned down towards her.

"We could even have _lunch_ in your office." James said with a mischievous look.

"_Lunch_? Depends on how good you are first." Lily said with a grin before she kissed James passionately. As James was getting very into the kiss a sharp ringing sound interrupted the pair. James pulled away from Lily and looked at her oddly.

"What is that?" He asked as he began to look around for where the sound was coming from. Lily bit her lip as she tried not to laugh and pulled out of James' embrace.

"That would be the telephone." Lily said as she pointed towards a small black box that was pinned against the wall. James looked at Lily curiously as she picked up the phone.

"Hello." Lily asked into the receiver.

"Lily?" A male voice asked.

"Hey Philippe." Lily smiled as she heard his familiar voice.

"Hi ya honey. You're a hard woman to get in touch with you know that?" Philippe said causing Lily to laugh. James walked towards the cupboards to see if there was any food as he felt a tad bit hungry. He opened a few cupboard doors to see the normal array of products like beans, chocolate biscuits and canned soup. He wasn't in the mood for anything he saw. He turned his attention back to Lily and waved his hands to get her attention.

"Hold on a minute Philippe." Lily said into the phone. "What's wrong?" Lily asked as she turned to James.

"Are you hungry, because I'm gonna head down to the chip shop." James said. He then looked down at what he was wearing. "Once I get changed that is." He added with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I'm starving. Do you need muggle money?" Lily asked. James looked at the phone then back up to Lily. "Oh he knows." Lily said with a wave of her hand.

"Oh. I've got muggle money." James said with a smile. James went to kiss Lily's cheek but she moved her head causing him to kiss her lips instead, not that he minded. The pair stood kissing for a few minutes before a faint voice could be heard.

"Lily? Are you still there? Lily?" Philippe called down the phone. Lily chuckled and pulled away from James and put the phone to her ear again. James kissed Lily on the cheek before walking out of the kitchen with a smile on his face.

"Umm sorry about that. What were you saying?" Lily asked.

"You sound very happy. You had sex." Philippe said.

"Philippe!" Lily said with a laugh.

"You did! Who is he? It's that guy that you're living with isn't it?" Philippe asked. Lily could hear James walk down the stairs and open the front door.

"I'll not be long!" James called before leaving. Lily grinned then pulled a chair from the table over to where the phone was and sat down.

"Oh Philippe, he is amazing. He is so kind and caring and he loves me. And do you wanna know the best thing? I love him too." Lily said in a dreamy voice. Philippe laughed down the phone.

"About time too!" He said. "I want to know everything."

"I don't know where to begin." Lily laughed. She sighed happily into the receiver. "Remember how I told you that the time James and I met up was the best you know that I'd ever had?" Lily asked. Philippe mumbled a yes. "Well last night definitely topped it by at least a thousand. Todd never even came close." Lily said with a smile on her face.

"Speaking of Todd, does lover boy know about him?" Philippe asked curiously.

"I don't know if James knows. I know I didn't tell him." Lily said with a shrug even though Philippe could see her.

"Don't you think you should tell him just in case? I mean your engagement ended because of him." Philippe said.

"It did not end because of James, it ended because Todd was shagging Tiffany." Lily said.

"But Lily he had an idea, why do you think he was with Tiffany?" Philippe said.

"Whose side are you on? He cheated on me, remember? I was the one who was faithful." Lily said a tad angrily.

"You stayed faithful physically but I know you played that night with James over and over in your head. And before you ask I'm on your side but you have to feel bad for the guy. He knew he was second best, even before he proposed." Philippe said.

"I never meant to make him feel like that, in fact I never even realised it until he had told me." Lily paused as she looked out through the kitchen window. Storm clouds had appeared in the sky and seemed as if it was going to start raining at any moment. "When he asked me to marry him," Lily continued, "I thought I was in love with him. I thought that there was no one else in the world that could make me happy but there was always this nagging feeling in my mind when I said the three words to Todd. They always screamed 'No you don't. Why are you lying?' It never went away."

"You never told me this." Philippe said quietly.

"You're the only person who knows." Lily said thoughtfully. Philippe was quiet as he thought about what she said. "You just had to make me act serious." Lily joked.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up. Just Todd is my lawyer and he was here the other day and he was talking about you." Philippe said.

"Why is Todd your lawyer? And what was he saying about me?" Lily asked curiously.

"I needed a lawyer for buying the Magic Charm." Philippe said. "He wasn't saying much. He just said that he hoped you were a lot happier in England than you had been here in New York. I told him you were and that there was someone special in your life."

"Why did you say that? Now he probably feels bad." Lily said worriedly.

"Why would he feel bad?" Philippe asked curiously.

"You know for a gay person you can be so male." Lily said huffily.

"That made no sense. Anyway he didn't act as if he felt bad, he just smiled and hoped that it was the guy you were crazy about." Philippe said. Lily smiled.

"How did-?" Lily began.

"Lily we all knew there was someone else. We just didn't know who – well I did because you told me but I mean Kelly and Mandy didn't know." Philippe said.

"You know I think I would have busted if I hadn't told you." Lily chuckled. "Remember that night? We got really drunk and we spilled our guts to each other."

"If it wasn't for that night I never would have married Derek." Philippe said.

"And if it wasn't for that night I never would have came home." Lily said thoughtfully.

"Do you ever regret going back to England?" Philippe asked. Lily thought about it. At that moment she never regretted it but she knew there would be times when she would especially because of Voldemort. She knew that bad times were still a head. But she knew that she would get through them because she was with James. She just knew.

"No I don't." Lily said with a smile. "I miss you and everyone else of course, but this is my home and this is where I will stay."

"The sex must be great." Philippe laughed.

"Mind-blowing." Lily said as she also laughed.

A while later Lily was sitting on the couch in the living room. It had got very dark and had started to rain very heavily. James had been away quiet a long time and she was beginning to get a tad worried especially in the bad weather. She never liked storms.

Lily started to think about her conversation with Philippe, especially the bits regarding Todd. Todd and Lily would have been married 5 months 3 weeks and 6 days if she had stayed with him. That was nearly a full six months of marriage. Lily shivered at the thought. It had been hard to image being Todd's wife when she was engaged to the man but now it seemed down right impossible.

He was a good guy but he just wasn't Lily's type of guy. He wasn't very adventurous, as he didn't like things out of the ordinary. He preferred to live by a schedule rather than to just do things spontaneously. If he and Lily were going to go out for dinner it had to be booked a full week in advance. Lily had hated this, sure she liked to be organised but not this organised. He also didn't have a sense of humour; Lily needed a fun guy who would make her laugh not ask her to explain _why_ a chicken would cross a road in the first place.

Todd did have a good side though. He was kind and caring. He did love her and she knew this but she just never felt the same way and she could understand why he cheated on her. Not many ex-girlfriends could say that! But Lily knew in her heart that Todd had done the right thing by cheating on her. If he hadn't she would be in a loveless marriage instead of falling madly in love with her dream guy.

The front door opened and then so did the living room door. James stood in the doorway soaking wet from head to toe.

"It's freezing out there." James said as he took off his jacket and producing what looked like a ball of newspaper. Lily chuckled as she stood up and waved her wand towards the kitchen. A few moments later plates and cutlery came flying into the room followed by two bottles of butterbeer. They landed on the coffee table graciously as Lily took the bundle of newspaper away from James.

"What took you so long?" Lily asked as she unwrapped the newspaper to reveal fish and chips. She set the food out onto the plates then handed James one. He had been standing in front of the fireplace – which he had started himself – trying to warm himself up.

"Thanks." James said as he took the plate and sat on the ground with his back against the couch that Lily was sitting on. "The chippy was packed and then some guy started talking to me about football. Didn't have a clue what he was saying but I couldn't exactly tell him to shut up cause he looked really excited about it." James said with a chuckle. Lily laughed and rolled her eyes. "So how was your chat with Philippe?" James asked. Lily shrugged as her foot rubbed at James's shoulder.

"Okay. He wants us to go visit, he really wants to meet you." Lily said with a grin.

"Should I be worried?" James asked turning to look at her. Lily laughed and shook her head.

"No, Philippe and I have a rule about stealing each others boyfriends; we don't." Lily said.

"Good." James said with a smile. The pair finished of their food in a comfortable silence. When James finished he put his empty plate on the coffee table and uncorked both bottles of butterbeer. Lily then put her plate on top of James' and took the remaining bottle from the coffee table and drank from it.

"We should go to Hogsmeade tomorrow. These butterbeers are no where near as good as Rosmerta's." Lily said as she put her empty bottle back on the coffee table. She then picked up her wand and pointed it at the dirty dishes and rubbish. They immediately flew off to the kitchen. She then sat back on the couch and lay her head down on a cushion and closed her eyes. James lolled his head back on the seat of the couch and closed his eyes too. Lily opened her eyes again and looked at James. He looked so peaceful and handsome and Lily couldn't help but smile, but there was something bugging her since she had got of the phone from Philippe.

"James?" Lily said as she stared at the fire.

"Umm?" He said as he opened his eyes and looked at her thoughtful face.

"Do you know about … Todd?" Lily asked tentatively. James looked away from her and looked at the fire as he took a drink from his butterbeer.

"The guy you were engaged to?" James asked.

"Yeah. So you do know about that then. Who told you?" Lily asked curiously.

"Hestia." James replied as he continued to stare at the fire.

"Did she tell you why it was called off?" Lily asked. James shook his head. "He cheated on me with one of the girls I worked with." Lily said.

"I'm sorry." James said.

"Don't be. He did the right thing." Lily said with a shrug. James looked at Lily oddly. "I never really loved him." Lily said elaborating. "I thought it was love but I always had a feeling it wasn't. I always had a feeling he wasn't the right guy. My heart is very good at telling me things like that." Lily said as she looked at James who gazed back at her.

"What does your heart tell you now?" James asked quietly.

"I can't tell you that, you might get egotistical." Lily laughed. James smiled and entwined one of his hands with hers.

"I'll take that as a good thing then." James said.

"You better 'cause if I ever catch you cheating on me you're a dead man." Lily said with a smile. James laughed causing Lily to smile because when he laughed it seemed to spread to his eyes and make him look even more handsome.

"And the same rule applies to you." James said with a grin.

"That's a deal." Lily said with a grin. James leaned over and kissed her on the lips gently.

"Sealed with a kiss." He said with a soft smile. Lily grinned then pulled him into a passionate kiss. Soon he was lying on top of her on the couch.

"Your clothes are wet." Lily giggled as James kissed at her neck.

"Then we'll just have to take them off." He said with a grin, which very much matched Lily's.

Later that evening James opened his eyes to the sound of someone calling his name.

"James!" The voice called. He took a deep breath and looked at the figure sleeping beside him. She looked beautiful with her long red locks sprawled across the white pillow and her beautiful body wrapped up in his duvet. James rubbed his eyes and got out of bed as the voice called again. He pulled on his boxers then a pair of sweat pants and walked quickly down the stairs before the voice could call again and wake Lily up. He walked into his kitchen and saw Sirius standing there with a letter in his and staring at two red feathers, which were sitting on the tabletop.

"What's with the shouting? Some people are trying to sleep." James said as he rubbed his face. Sirius looked at James then up at the clock.

"Didn't think you'd be sleeping at 9.30 in the evening, sorry mate." Sirius said with a shrug.

"I'm up now what's wrong?" James asked, as there was the sound of popping coming from the hallway. Then two figures were standing in the kitchen. James looked at the Hestia and Remus oddly. "That was strange, you guys did that at the same time." James said.

"You all right mate? You look a bit tired." Remus said looking James up and down.

"This git woke me up." James said as he walked towards the kettle. "Tea?" James asked. Hestia and Remus nodded their heads but Sirius shook his. Remus noticed the feathers on the tabletop.

"So you guys have been asked as well." Remus remarked. James looked at Remus oddly.

"Asked what?" James asked.

"Pick up the feather and you'll see." Sirius said.

"You've been on the firewhiskey haven't you?" James said as he looked at Sirius and tried to decipher if he was drunk or not.

"Just pick up the bloody feather." Sirius said agitatedly. James picked up one of the feathers just to humour Sirius but nothing happened. "That most be Lily's. Pick up the other one." Sirius said. James did as he was told and just as soon as the red feather touched his fingers it instantly transformed into a sheet of parchment. James looked at his friends then picked up the parchment.

Dear James

I am sure that this seems a strange way to send a letter but what I am about to ask you must be kept secret. You, as well as others, have been asked to join a secret operation known as the Order of the Phoenix. It will be much like the 'Magic Charm' operation that had been set up. Minister Bagnold told me a lot about it and it gave me the inspiration to set up the order. The only difference is that the order will be on a larger scale and a lot more secret. I don't want to say too much but I do hope that you will meet with me tomorrow evening at 9 p.m. at Hogwarts to discuss this further. I hope to see you soon.

Albus Dumbledore

James looked at his friends then back at the letter in concentration. He didn't know quiet what to think except that it should have been set up a lot earlier.

"He signed it _Albus_." James said with a chuckle.

"You going?" Sirius asked. James nodded.

"Might as well. Should be fun." James said with a smile causing Sirius to smile. "Are you going?" James asked his friend.

"Of course can't let you have all the fun." Sirius laughed. "What do you think Remus?" Sirius asked turning to him.

"Sounds like a good idea, I'll go." Remus said as he pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and sat down.

"What about you, Hes?" Sirius asked softly. The pair hadn't had a chance to talk since they came back from the mission and Sirius was feeling a bit cowardly for not talking to her sooner.

"Yeah." She said as she kept eye contact with him.

"I wonder if Peter got asked?" Remus questioned.

"Of course he did, he's one of us." James said as he went to pour the tea. There was a sound of someone walking down the stairs and James immediately looked at the other red feather sitting on the tabletop. He didn't want Lily to have anything to do with this. He wanted to keep her safe from all this hardship but he knew she wouldn't go for it. And he knew that she was a valuable asset, but he loved her. He could lose her if she was part of the order, and that was one thing he wouldn't be able to live through.

Lily walked through the kitchen door and was taken back to see her friends there. She was standing in a long T-shirt, which was obviously James', that barely covered her tiny hot pants.

"What're you all doing here?" Lily asked as she walked into the room a little further.

"Umm you got a feather." Sirius said. Lily looked at him oddly.

"What? Is this a joke?" Lily asked cautiously.

"Just pick up the feather." Sirius said. Lily looked at Hestia who nodded and Lily did so. The same thing happened to the feather as it had done when James touched it. She read the letter then looked up at her friends.

"So that's what Bagnold was on about this morning." Lily said.

"I forgot about that." James said as he handed Hestia and Remus their tea.

"I take it everyone else got asked." Lily said as she looked at her friends. They all nodded. James kept his eyes on his mug. "Good, as long as I won't be the only person there."

"So you're going then." Hestia stated.

"What would make you think otherwise?" Lily asked as she walked towards the kettle that James was standing beside. He moved out of her way so that she could get to it easier. "Thanks." Lily muttered. For some reason Lily felt odd towards James now that their friends were there. She felt like she had to keep her feelings about James secret, even though they pretty much knew how James and Lily felt about the other.

"I just thought that after what happened-" Hestia began.

"The Harbour families death weren't my fault." Lily said as she turned to Hestia who smiled at her.

"Good as long as you aren't blaming yourself anymore." Hestia said. "So what're we doing tomorrow?" Hestia asked as she changed the subject.

"Don't you guys have work?" Remus asked as he sipped at his tea.

"We got the day off." Sirius explained.

"You wanna have lunch, Lily?" Hestia asked thoughtfully. "We haven't done that in weeks. Not since you admitted your feelings about James." Hestia said with a grin. Lily looked at her friend alarmed as James grinned at Lily.

"Hestia!" Lily scolded.

"What? We all know you guys are shagging." Hestia said as Sirius and Remus turned to the pair with amused grins.

"So is it official yet?" Sirius asked with a corny grin. James and Lily blushed and looked at the ground. "I take that as a yes. Now if you both had only realised this back at Hogwarts, life might have been a tiny bit more bearable." Sirius said.

"I think I remember telling you not to come near here at all today." Lily said as she looked at Sirius warningly.

"Yeah but that was so you could shag, and I'm guessing you guys were at it all day." Sirius said beaming.

"Piss off." James said as he threw a tea towel at Sirius, who caught it in his hand.

"You guys are worse than rabbits." Sirius said as he chuckled.

"James I hope you're at least using protection. Rabbits reproduce a lot." Remus said with a smirk.

"You're worse than him." James scolded causing Sirius and Remus to laugh.

"Lily we so have to have lunch tomorrow. We can compare sex notes about the Marauders." Hestia laughed, as did Lily. Sirius looked at Hestia alarmingly; it was the first time that either had openly admitted it. This had caused Remus' eyebrow to raise.

"Did I miss something?" Remus asked.

"That's private stuff." Sirius said looking at Hestia warningly.

"My lips are sealed." Hestia said with a wink.

"I think you and I need to talk." Sirius said to Hestia.

"I agree." Hestia said. "You have me in a good mood, so I won't shout at you for taking advantage of me. Meet you at the pub." Hestia said with a smile before disapparating.

"You took advantage of me." Sirius said but she had already left. "Bloody woman!" Sirius said before he too disapparated. Remus was left looking a little perplexed.

"I better go, I left Jenny alone at my apartment. See you guys later." Remus said before he disapparated also. James looked at Lily; he walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You guys aren't really going to compare us, are you?" James asked. Lily smiled and looked up at him.

"Of course not. But don't worry you have nothing to be ashamed off." Lily smiled before pulling him closer to her and kissing him lightly. "Let's go back to bed." Lily said as she took James' hand and led him out of the kitchen.

* * *

Hey guys I hope you liked. I know there wasn't much going on but I kinda needed this chapter especially for future chapters.

Please review!!!

Now on to my thank you's!!!!

Iris – Thank you so much! You have really boosted my confidence!!!

Missers – a lot more lovey dovey stiff as you can see! Hope you like it, I tried to end this chapter the same as the 1st, but I'm not sure I managed to. Lol

Bread and Cheese – An epilogue huh? Dunno if I agree with you there. I'm glad you like it though!

Waytoomuchtime – Which other story? Forever and Beyond?

Jessie – Hey ya great to see ya back!!!!!

ALI – Do you need help writing the story or just putting it on the site? Sorry I haven't emailed, I've been real busy!

Taiyourshoes – Hey I'm glad you like the stories. You were on hp? I know school can make you get lost very easily!!!!

Gurty – Of course that's not all! Lol Hope you like!!!

Shamrock13 – I'm glad you like both stories!!!!!

Samantha Kensington – I love Lily and James stories as well, I'm a sucker for the romance!!!!

Divaleah – Glad you like the sequel, I was a bit worried that no one would!

Emmy – Hey girl, hows u? So glad ya like it!!!!

Secondatbat9 – Hey ya! Did ya ever get finished reading the stories??? Lol

Courtney – I'm glad you like it

James and Lily 4eva – I'm so sorry I took forever to update. I'm glad you like this though

Anyway I want to thank everyone who read this even if you don't review … but please do!!! Lol

Eimear


	3. Chapter 3

Okay let me think of an excuse of why this took forever … umm okay I got one, aliens landed and we went shopping? Umm okay Prince Charming swept me of my feet and we have been looked up in a castle for nearly a month and this the first time I've been able to get near a computer? It could happen! Okay how about I'm an evil person and I wanted to keep you all in suspense with lovey dovey-ness of it all. That sounds better!

I hope you guys like this because if it weren't for the film **The Prince and Me** none of this would have been written, I was totally inspired even though this chapter is nothing like the film. But I recommend the film to everyone because it is so cool and romantic and the guy Luke Mably is SHAGGABLE!!!! Yes he is that cute with his haughty English accent. You know no one in England sound like that! Wish they did though!!!! Anyway on with the story!!!! Oh Please Read and Review!!!

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Disclaimer: I own nothing that you find familiar from the Harry Potter books as that is all JK Rowlings creation not mine. The only thing that is mine is the story idea.

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Chapter 3

Lily looked up from her parchment, as there was a knock on her door. It was the afternoon of her first day as the Head of the department of Law and she had a lot of work to do.

"Come in." Lily called. The door opened and a handsome man with golden brown hair walked in. Lily smiled at the man. "It's … Caradoc, isn't it?" Lily asked. The man smiled and nodded. "Sorry I'm just getting used to everything." Lily said with a helpless shrug.

"Don't worry about it, you'll know us all in a few days." Caradoc said in his deep voice. "I have those files you wanted on the Goblin trials." He said as he set a thick folder down on her desk. Lily looked at the folder and chuckled.

"Do we have any summary notes for the trials?" Lily asked hopefully. Caradoc laughed.

"That is the summary notes." Caradoc said. Lily's face dropped.

"This going to take forever." She said with a chuckle. Caradoc smiled and went to walk out the door before hesitating. He turned to Lily, causing her to look up.

"I just wanted to say that I'm glad somebody on _our_ side got the Head job." Caradoc said with a shy smile.

"Thank you." Lily said with a grin.

"If you need any help just give me a shout." Caradoc said just before ducking as an inter-departmental memo flew by. It landed on Lily's desk with grace.

"Thank you, Caradoc. I'm sure I'll be calling for help soon." Lily said with a chuckle. Caradoc smiled then left. Lily picked up the memo that was shaped like a paper aeroplane. She unwrapped it and smiled as she read the letter

Lily

How's the first day? Are they treating you good? They better be, if not I can send a very groggy Sirius up to sort them out. That's if the git ever wakes up. I'm just waiting for Moody's eye to catch him. That's going to be funny.

So, are you missing me yet? I'm missing you, I keep thinking that you're only a wall away instead of a few floors. I know it's not very far but I like seeing you all the time. Which reminds me, I kind of can't make dinner tonight. I have an explanation so don't get angry just yet. My dad wants me to meet him for a drink. You know do the whole father-son-bonding thing. Never really understood it, I just think he likes a valuable excuse for getting away from my mum for a while. All we'll do is talk about Quidditch, the guys, and current events and you. You don't mind if I tell him about us do you? He won't mind because he likes you. Plus he can ease my mum into it if you know what I mean. She like you, it's just the living situation that she doesn't like. Shit! Moody just walked in and Sirius still hasn't woken up. See you when I get home.

Love James

Lily smiled to herself but she was slightly disappointed that she and James couldn't have dinner that night. It was the second time that this arrangement had been broken as the previous night it had been broken because Lily had to get prepared for her first day at work and also because of the Order meeting.

It had been a strange experience for Lily because many of the people she had not known. But James had known them all and was on a first name basis with them. She felt slightly jealous at this but she understood why she didn't know any of them, it didn't help when she had left the country for five years.

They had discussed many things at the meeting especially life-threatening roles, which unfortunately for Lily, James wished to have an active part in. Lily decided that she would write James back later as he was probably very busy. She didn't really want to have dinner alone and so decided to send a memo to Hestia.

Their lunch date the previous day had been cancelled due to unknown reasons on Lily's part. Lily felt as if she had been losing touch with her best friend recently since she moved in with James. She had already spent five years away from Hestia and she didn't want to feel that distance ever again. When Lily sent the memo she sighed and looked at the pile of papers in front of her. She was definitely going to need help with this.

* * *

James chuckled again as he deflected a hex. It was just too funny. The way he jumped like a mile made James laugh more. And the look on his face was priceless – it was a moment James would never forget.

"Would you stop laughing!" Sirius said angrily as he threw another hex at James. James deflected once again and laughed even harder. "It wasn't that funny." Sirius said testily.

"It was actually." James said as Sirius walked over to the side of the room and grabbed a towel. He wiped his face with it then threw it on the ground and picked up a bottle of water. "Ah come on. You would've laughed if it had been me." James said with a grin. Sirius looked at him agitatedly then took a drink from the bottle. He offered the bottle to James who shook his head.

"I can't believe he's putting me on watch tomorrow night." Sirius said as he shook his head. "All I did was fall asleep." Sirius said as if it were no big deal. James chuckled again as he walked towards a punch bag. "Can't you do something about it?" Sirius asked looking at James pleadingly. James shook his head as he held the punch bag for Sirius to hit.

"I'm not your group leader." James said as Sirius punched the bag.

"Which by the way sucks." Sirius said as he hit the punch bag again.

"I think it's better this way." James said with a chuckle. Sirius looked at him as if he was abnormally normal. "At least now we will get some work done."

"But we work better as a team." Sirius said as he stood straight and looked at James oddly.

"And we would probably work even better individually." James said with a grin.

"This has something to do with you shagging Evans, doesn't it?" Sirius said accusingly. James gave him a look to shut him up.

"Shut up! Nobody knows yet." James hissed as he looked about the room. There were a few people practising disarming spells. "And it has nothing to do with her."

"Then what?" Sirius asked as James looked at him again.

"It's to do with that _thing_." James whispered. Sirius looked bewildered for a moment then smiled.

"Oh yeah what Dumbledore said about us all being brilliant and having to use our talents blah blah blah." Sirius said with a grin.

"Maybe he's right." James said with a shrug as Sirius took a hold of the bag and motioned for James to punch it. "We'll need to work alone to make things better." James said as he hit the bag weakly.

"Evans take all the _punch_ out of you?" Sirius asked with a grin as James rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll not complain about you bossing me about anymore." Sirius said with a roll of his eyes. "But if I become a better wizard because of it I'm blaming you." Sirius said warningly. James laughed as he hit the bag harder. "So what're you doing tonight … apart from shagging the girlfriend." Sirius asked with a grin.

"Who's he shagging?" A voice asked from behind Sirius. They looked at the figure and smiled.

"Amelia, you're looking lovely as ever." Sirius said with a grin, as he looked Amelia up and down. She was wearing a tight pair of black shorts and white tank top.

"Well I know that, Black. I don't need you telling me it." Amelia said with a grin. "So who's the new lady James? If you tell me the wrong answer I'll have to hex you." Amelia said as she brandished her wand with a smile

"What's the wrong answer?" James asked warily.

"Saying it's someone other than your favourite red head." Amelia grinned.

"Then he has the right answer for you." Sirius said with a grin. Amelia raised an eyebrow at James curiously.

"Never knew you had it in you." Amelia said with a grin. "I think I should have a wee word with Lily just to make sure she knows what she is getting into." Amelia said with a chuckle as she started to walk away but James grabbed her arm.

"Amelia don't." James said quickly. Amelia turned to look at him oddly as James dropped his hand from her arm. "She um she doesn't know about um about us well me and you in the um past erm you know." James stuttered. Amelia sighed heavily as Sirius looked at him oddly.

"You should really tell her." Amelia said.

"I know but it's just weird. I mean you guys are friends and I'm not sure how she would react." James said with a shrug.

"She would be a lot angrier if she found out from someone else." Sirius said as he walked towards where his bottle of water lay.

"You guys aren't giving Lily an awful lot of credit." Amelia said as she moved over to one of the mats and started to stretch. "She's a big girl she won't care as long as you aren't fooling around with anyone else whilst you're dating her." Amelia said pointedly as she arched her back. Sirius looked at her and tilted his head as James stared into space. "You aren't fooling around with someone else are you?" Amelia said as she stood up straight.

"Of course not." James said as he looked at her. He felt a little bit of guilt as he looked at her but pushed it away.

"Good." Amelia said with a nod of her head then started to stretch again.

"Very good." Sirius said with a small smile. There was laughter heard on the other side of the room and James and Sirius looked round to see Hestia standing with a very handsome man. James looked at Sirius who held no emotion upon his face.

"So James," Sirius said as he turned his attention back to his friend, "What are you up to tonight?" Sirius asked.

"Oh um I'm meeting my dad for a few drinks." James said as he walked over to the weight area.

"Cool, I'm there." Sirius said as he followed James and picked up one of the weights. James chuckled and shook his head.

"Thought you would be." James said.

* * *

Later that evening Lily and Hestia were sitting in the living room having just finished up dinner.

"That was delicious." Hestia said as she sat back in the sofa beside Lily. "Where did you ever learn to cook like that?" Hestia asked.

"Philippe taught me. He taught me that a way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Lily laughed. Hestia chuckled as she picked up her glass of wine from the coffee table.

"So I take it that's how you got James to love you." Hestia said with a smirk. Lily chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"That and my other promising features." Lily added with a grin and a wink.

"Lily!" Hestia said as she sat up straight and her eyes widened. "So spill, does he put his back into it?" Hestia asked with a grin and raised her eyebrows.

"Hestia!" Lily said with a giggle as she lifted her own wineglass. Hestia looked at her expectantly with a grin. "I'm not telling you that." Lily added as she sipped her wine.

"Ah come on, you tell me everything. Remember we don't keep secrets from each other. Plus you told me all about you Todd's sex life." Hestia said as she topped her glass with the bottle of red that was on the table. "Unless he's that bad you don't want to talk about." Hestia added as she looked at Lily with a small smile.

"He's far from it actually." Lily said as she took the bait. "James is the most sensual lover that I've ever had."

"And you've had a lot." Hestia said with a smirk. Lily hit her playfully.

"Well what about you and Sirius?" Lily asked curiously.

"There is no me and Sirius." Hestia said with a shrug. "Just because we had sex doesn't mean that we are going to fall head over heals in love. We aren't you and James." Hestia said as she sipped her wine.

"I know that but I thought you guys would have at least tried to find out if there was anything else there." Lily said as she looked at Hestia curiously.

"But there's not anything there. There's no spark – just great sex." Hestia said with a smile. "And I don't want to just have a relationship based on sex. I've had enough of those already." Hestia said with a chuckle.

"So whose idea was this?" Lily asked as she sipped her wine.

"It was a mutual agreement." Hestia said with a shrug. Lily looked at Hestia curiously, she wondered if she was really all right about this. "Don't look at me like that, Lily. I'm happy with this. In fact I'd prefer it this way." Hestia said, as there was a pop from the hall.

"Anyone home?" A voice called.

"In here." Lily shouted as she looked at the door. She smiled as she saw Remus come through the door.

"Hello ladies." Remus said with a grin as he saw Hestia and Lily sitting comfortably on the couch. "Is James about?" Remus asked curiously.

"No he went for a few drinks with his dad." Lily said.

"Oh and what are you lovely ladies up to?" Remus asked with a smile as he sat down in the chair opposite them.

"We are having a girlie night with a nice bottle of red." Hestia said with a grin as she pointed towards the empty bottle of wine.

"We would offer you a glass but as you can see we have none left." Lily said with a chuckle. "But we do have more in the kitchen." Lily said as she stood up and left the room in search of more wine.

"Is she all right?" Remus asked Hestia with a chuckle.

"I don't think she ever was." Hestia said with a grin and a shake of her head. "So how are you Remus? Things going good with Jenny?" Hestia asked.

"Good, good." Remus said with a nod of his head. "What about you and Sirius? Patched things up?" Remus asked.

"Things are good." Hestia said, she didn't notice Remus's form slouch a little and his eyes hold a new emotion. "We aren't together, making things really good." Hestia said with a chuckle.

"Oh?" Remus said as he straightened a little. "H-How come?"

"We wouldn't have worked out. There's nothing between us." Hestia said with a shrug.

"Too bad." Remus said with a hidden smile. "Looks like you and Lily won't have that joint wedding after all." Remus added with a chuckle causing Hestia to smile.

"Thankfully not." Hestia said. "What about you and Jenny though? You guys have been dating for quite a while. No wedding bells on the horizon?" Hestia asked curiously

"Hell no." Remus said with a chuckle as Hestia laughed. "I can't see us lasting until the end of the month." Remus said with a shrug.

"How come?" Hestia asked as she leaned on the armrest and looked at Remus interestedly. He was very handsome as the light from the fire fluttered across his face. He was smart and mysterious, which Hestia found very attractive. _Where had that come from?_ Hestia thought to herself.

"It's the same as you and Sirius, there's nothing between us anymore. I thought there was but we are different people to what we where a year ago." Remus said.

"That's really too bad." Hestia said.

"What's too bad?" Lily asked as she walked back into the room with a bottle of red wine and a bottle of white wine.

"Umm that the magpies are losing their best keeper." Hestia said, as she looked at Lily. She had a feeling that Remus didn't really want anyone to know about what he had just told her. She looked at Remus who gave her a small smile in gratitude.

* * *

"Thanks Tom." James said as the old innkeeper set down two tankards of butter beer in front of him and his father. Sirius was talking to a few men at the bar and was laughing about one thing or another.

"Okay, James spill." Mr Potter said as he looked at his son over his glass.

"W-what are you talking about?" James asked as he spluttered into his glass.

"There has been something on your mind all evening." Mr Potter said knowingly as he looked at his son.

"No there hasn't." James said as he tried to laugh it off.

"I know that look on your face, James. It's the same look you gave me right before you told me you blew up the kitchen." Mr Potter said accusingly. James went red at the memory. "Now what is it?" Mr Potter asked. James kept quiet as he tried to think of the right way to say this to his father. He was sure his father wouldn't be disappointed in him because well why would he, James was just nervous for some reason.

"For Merlin's sake James, just tell him." Sirius said as he sat down beside James and his father. "Fine I will. You know Lily, James's room mate?" Sirius asked, Mr Potter nodded as his eyebrows furrowed. "Well they're shagging and not just in a casual way. Potter Junior is head over heels in love with the red head." Sirius said with a grin. James cringed and put his head in his hands. He could not believe Sirius had just said that to his father. James looked up as he heard his father's laughter.

"Is that it?" Mr Potter asked. "James I knew you liked the girl. I do remember you wouldn't shut up about her when you were younger." Mr Potter laughed.

"So you're all right about this?" James asked hesitantly.

"It's not my reaction you have to worry about, it's your mothers." Mr Potter said. James looked at his father as he bit his lip. "No, James. I'm not telling her. I'm not getting in the middle of this one." Mr Potter said as he shook his head.

"Oh come on, you could ease her into it, please?" James begged his father.

"No." His father said sternly. "You're a grown up now, James. You are going to have to tell your mother about your girlfriend." Mr Potter said as he tried to hold back his laughter. James rolled his eyes.

"I'll remember that." James said.

"If you want I'll tell her." Sirius said with a grin. James shot him a look.

"If you say anything to her, you're a dead man." James warned. Sirius put his hands up.

"Fine, I'll let you mess this up on your own." Sirius chuckled.

"Thank you." James said, then rolled his eyes as Sirius and his father laughed.

* * *

James groaned as Lily took the covers from him. It was too early in the morning for this.

"Piss off." James groaned as he tried to pull the covers from her with his eyes still closed.

"No, get up." Lily said as stood at the foot of the bed, the duvet in her hand.

"It's Sunday, I don't work on Sundays." James groaned as he turned over and tried to regain the warmth even if he didn't have any blankets.

"But you are having lunch with your parents." Lily said as she folded the duvet and sat it on the ground at the foot of his bed.

"I'm not going today." James said sleepily.

"You didn't go last week either, and you're mother is going to get worried." Lily said as she crossed her arms. James opened his eyes and turned onto his back and looked at her.

"Then come with me." James said.

"No." Lily said a little startled. "It's a family thing." Lily said as she walked over to the window and opened the curtains. James winced as the bright sunlight streamed into the room.

"Lily come on. My Mother invited you as well." James said as he sat up on the bed and put his legs over the side, he winced as his feet touched the cold wooden floors.

"I'm not going James." Lily said as she stood by the window with her arms crossed.

"We're going to have to tell her sometime." James said sullenly.

"No _you_ are going to have to tell her about us. She is _your_ mother." Lily said. James looked at her and sighed.

"I'm not going to fight with you over this because I want my duvet back." James said with a pout. Lily chuckled and sat down beside him on the bed. She was wearing one of his long T-shirts and a pair of his boxer shorts and her was hair cascading across her shoulders.

"You're not getting your duvet, because you have to get up and get dressed." Lily said as if she was talking to a child. James chuckled as he looked at the red head beauty.

"You'd be a great mammy." James laughed as he pulled her close and kissed her nose.

"Well, I'm not looking to be one just yet." Lily chuckled. James rubbed her arm as he held her close to him and stared off into space.

James couldn't believe it had only been a few weeks ago since he and Lily had got together. It felt as if he and Lily had been together forever. He had never had such strong feelings about anyone as he had for Lily, especially not so early in the relationship. He wanted to tell her how much she meant to him, he wanted to show her how much she meant to him. He didn't know how he could show her this anymore than he already had. He had already told her he loved her – he didn't say it all the time because he didn't want to wear it out, after all he planned to be with her for a very long time. She also already lived with him, after much persuasion she slept in his room – no their room. What else was he to do? She had moved some of her clothes into his wardrobe – saying that it would take up a lot less time going from his room to hers. Even though Lily had her own clothes around she liked to wear James's T-shirts and his boxers, which he never really understood.

"Why do you wear my clothes?" James asked with a quirky smile. Lily chuckled into his chest. To Lily it was a perfect chest. It was a nice brown colour and he had nice abs, which felt nice against her skin. He also had the slightest bit of hair on his chest. It wasn't too much; it was just nice.

"I don't know." Lily said sheepishly as she looked up at James. "I guess, I just feel a tiny bit closer to you." James smiled as he looked down at her and kissed her gently on the lips.

"I can understand, just don't expect me to start wearing your clothes." James said with a chuckle causing Lily to laugh. Lily moved out of his embrace and stood up and held out her hand.

"You need to go for a shower." Lily said. James took her hand but pulled her towards him instead of standing up.

"I really want you to come with me today." James said as he looked up at her as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Tell your mother today and then we'll see how that goes." Lily said.

"Why won't you come?" James asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Your mother means a lot to you James, as does your father." Lily said quietly. "I want your mum to accept me, but I know this won't happen until she gets over the initial shock of us being together first. And I think it's best that she finds out from you … without me around." Lily said with a soft smile.

"Why wouldn't my mum accept you, Lily? You're an amazing person, I couldn't see anyone not falling in love with you the way I have." James said as he kissed her stomach.

"James, regardless of my personality or what I look like, people are going to judge me for being a muggle born … especially now with everything going on." Lily said as she raked her fingers through his hair.

"My mother's not like that Lily." James said as his gaze hardened a little.

"I know that James, but she will worry about you being involved with me. I worry about it." Lily added quietly as she looked away from his gaze.

"Well don't, I don't care about that, Lily. If anything I'm in more danger without you." James said as he reached a hand up to her chin and turned her face causing her to look at him. "I have a shower to take and you are coming with me." James said with a grin.

"Okay, but we have to use the one downstairs. Hestia and I broke yours yesterday." Lily said with a playful gleam in her eyes. James stood up; he had to look down slightly to look into her eyes questioningly. "We um tried to give snuffles a quick wash." Lily said with a chuckle. James laughed as Lily led him out of the room and down the stairs to the ensuite bedroom.

A while later when James and Lily finally got out of the shower they each had towels wrapped around them, as they had left their clothes and wands upstairs. As Lily walked out of the bedroom first James wrapped his arms around her and turned her so that she was looking at him.

"I have an idea. When I get back from my parents why don't we rent a few movies and make a lazy night of it, just you and I." James said as he pushed a strand of wet hair away from his face.

"Oh and can we get a Chinese?" Lily asked with a grin.

"Anything you want." James said with a grin as he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Ahem." Someone coughed. James froze knowing exactly who that person was. He looked up and saw his mother standing beside the front door. She had her arms crossed and was looking at the pair as if they were teenagers who were about to be told off. Her intense gaze upon them softened a little, however.

"Mum, umm I can explain…" James trailed off as he looked at Lily who was looking at James's mother.

"I'm not a complete idiot, James, I know what is going on." Mrs Potter said. "I just came to make sure that the pair of you were coming to dinner today." James slowly took his arms from around Lily and looked at his mother as he ran a hand through his hair nervously.

"Well it was-" James began but was cut off by Lily.

"We'll be there." Lily said with a smile. James looked at Lily then to his mother with a small smile.

"Good. Don't be late. Oh and make sure you change first." Mrs Potter said with a dry smile before disapparating. Lily looked at James then buried her head in his chest.

"That was so embarrassing." Lily said. James chuckled as he put his hand to her head.

A while later, Lily and James were sitting with Sirius and James's parents at their dinning table. Dinner had just finished and they were currently eating desert.

"Lily, tell me how exactly did you and my son come together?" Mrs Potter asked as she took a sip from her teacup. Lily looked at James and smiled.

"Well, we were kind of put into a life or death situation and we realised that it was silly to hide our feelings like we had done. When you go on a mission, you write a letter to a loved one … just in case. James wrote one to me. He got hurt and I decided to read the letter, that's when I realised he loved me as much I loved him." Lily said as she looked at James, James had taken a hold of her hand during the story and squeezed it as she finished speaking.

"James I never knew you had it in you." Mr Potter said with pride evident in his voice. James blushed and looked into his now empty ice cream bowl.

"It seems we brought you up right then, James." Mrs Potter said with a chuckle. "And what about you Sirius?" Mrs Potter said as she looked at Sirius who was eating his third helping of ice cream. "Who is the lady of the moment?" Mrs Potter said with a grin.

"Ah there is many, but I can't tell you about them I might jinx it." Sirius said with a chuckle causing everyone else to laugh. Everyone quietened, as there was a small pop and a red feather floated in front of James. James took a hold of it and it immediately turned into a piece of parchment. James sighed once he finished reading it and put it into his pocket.

"I have to go, I'm sorry." James said apologetically as he looked from Lily to his parents. "Thanks for a great meal, mum." James said as he stood up, he looked at Lily then leaned down and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you when I get home." James said with a smile before he disapparated. Lily stared at the place where James had just been; she wondered what had been so important that made him disappear so quickly. She knew that it was an Order feather as she had got many of them over the past few weeks.

"Is that a new way for the ministry to contact their Aurors?" Mrs Potter asked curiously as she looked at Sirius.

"Something like that." Sirius said as he too stared at the place where James had just been.

"Now what were we talking about? Ah yes, Sirius and his ladies friends, so who is she?" Mrs Potter asked with a small grin. Sirius chuckled and looked at Mrs Potter.

"There is no one." Sirius said with a smile and a shake of his head.

"Lily, you must know of someone." Mrs Potter said as she turned to Lily. Lily grinned, as she looked Sirius.

"I do believe that Sirius has a somewhat crush on someone." Lily said. Sirius looked at her seriously and shook his head.

"Oh who is she?" Mrs Potter cooed.

"Leave the poor boy alone." Mr Potter said with a chuckle.

"I don't know if you know her, Amelia Bones?" Lily said with a chuckle.

"Of course we know her dear." Mrs Potter said with a smile. "I don't think I could forget my son's ex-fiancée." Mrs Potter said as she looked back to Sirius. She didn't notice Lily's face drop but Sirius did. "She's a nice girl, Sirius." Mrs Potter said approvingly.

"Lily are you all right?" Mr Potter said as he looked at Lily's pale face. Lily turned to him and smiled.

"I'm fine Mr Potter, I just have a bit of a headache, too much ice cream I suppose. I think I better go I have a mountain of work to get through before tomorrow. Thank you for a wonderful dinner." Lily said with a smile as she stood up. Sirius stood up also.

"I better go as well." Sirius said.

"It was lovely seeing you again, dear." Mrs Potter said as she stood up and kissed Lily on both cheeks. "I hope we can do it again soon." Lily nodded then received a kiss on the cheek from Mr Potter. Lily disapparated and left Sirius standing there with Mr and Mrs Potter.

"Is everything all right with Lily?" Mrs Potter asked Sirius.

"I'm not sure. I better go make sure though or else James will have my head on a plate." Sirius said with a chuckle. And with that he disapparated.

"She's a nice girl." Mrs Potter said approvingly. Mrs Potter chuckled and shook his head.

* * *

It didn't end on such a good note did it? Ah well just means that when they make up it will be passionate … or will it? I hoped you all liked it and please review.

Okay I have to gave a big Thank You to…

James and Lily 4eva wow you where up late reading this! 2:27, you're lucky if I can even stay awake until that time.

Sugar wow overload with the reviews there but I'm glad you liked it.

Jessie xxx Hey girl, hows you? We never really chat much and you always review my stories so thanks!!!

Charlotte (secondatbat9) oh so you are sugar … sweet! I'm glad you it!!!

Jecky Glad you liked!!!!

Courtney wow you like all them? Cool!!! I'm glad you like this one though, means a lot!!!!!

Hadhafang Todd??? I think he might just cause a little problem!! ;-)

Ilene I'm really happy that you like the story!

Black's Gurl I'm glad you like it!!!!

Ace112 Thank you for a great review!!!!!

Ani Thanks for reading!!!

Agloechen You had me scared for a minute cause I thought you hated this story but I'm glad you don't!!!!

Iris You were hooked before??? Lol I'm kidding, I'm glad you like the story.

Anissawitch You weren't rude, but you gotta understand this story takes a lot of time and effort to make it right … oh who am I kidding I procrastinate a lot lol!!!!

Missy Hey ya! Glad you liked it!! But I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you aren't happy about the Sirius and Hestia situation! Oh and of course Lily and James are getting more randy!!!! Harry does have to be conceived you know lol!!!!! Oh and Philippe will definitely be in the story in the future you know not just as a voice. I love gay men!!!! Only type of men there should be but I just had to give Lily a gay friend!!!!

Okay I hope everyone liked!!!!!! Please review!!!!

Eimear


	4. Chapter 4

Okay be proud of me, it's been less than a month … 3 weeks and 2 days to be precise I think. I am very proud of myself, I'm posting faster woohoo!!!! I'm not gonna give you guys an excuse of why it took so long … but since you all desperately wanted to know I had writer's block. I had absolutely no idea what to write after Lily and James's 'talk' about Amelia. I had written that bit about two weeks ago then about **Looks at watch** 9 hours ago I started writing the rest. It seriously took me that long I kept procrastinating and I kept editing bits and pieces. But I must say I am happy with what I ended up with. But it wasn't originally supposed to end up like this just so you know. But anyway enough about how I wrote this that and the other, on with the story. PS Don't hate me too much.

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Disclaimer: I own nothing that you find familiar from the Harry Potter books as that is all JK Rowlings creation not mine. The only thing that is mine is the story idea.

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Chapter 4

Lily was getting really annoyed by his presence. She tapped her quill on the table repeatedly as she tried to hold her tongue. She looked at him angrily.

"Sirius, why are you here?" Lily hissed. Sirius looked at her over his cup of tea.

"I'm waiting for James to get back." Sirius said as he sipped his tea.

"That could be hours from now." Lily said.

"Then I'll wait." Sirius said with a shrug. Lily sighed angrily as she looked back down at the parchment on her desk. "Why are you so pissed off?" Sirius asked curiously as he leaned on the breakfast bench and looked at Lily.

"I'm not." Lily said agitatedly as she kept her eyes on the parchment.

"Is it about this whole thing with Amelia?" Sirius asked as he looked at her intently.

"Why would I be annoyed about that?" Lily asked as she continued to keep her eyes focused on the parchment. She had read the same line at least five times and it still didn't make sense to her.

"It is that isn't it?" Sirius pursued the topic much to Lily's annoyance.

"Why would that annoy me?" Lily asked as she looked up at Sirius angrily. "Is it the fact that the man I love forgot to mention a small indiscretion like being engaged to one of my friends?" Lily practically screamed at Sirius. "Is that supposed to piss me off?"

"It would piss me off." Sirius said as he kept a calm demeanour. There was a pop and Hestia was standing beside Sirius. She looked at a fuming Lily then to the calm Sirius.

"What'd I miss?" She asked curiously.

"Lily found out about James and Amelia dating." Sirius said as he looked at Hestia.

"No, not just dating, they were engaged. Like about to married for the rest of their life." Lily said angrily.

"Since when were they engaged?" Hestia asked curiously.

"They weren't." Sirius as he looked at Hestia.

"What do you mean they weren't?" Lily asked. "Why would his mother say that if they hadn't been engaged?"

"I think it's better if James explained that to you." Sirius as he stood up straight. Lily sighed angrily and went back to her work. A few hours later Hestia and Sirius were still standing in the kitchen annoying Lily by their constant bickering and debates about silly and frivolous subjects. Lily couldn't take it any longer, and just as she was about to scream at them there was a pop in the hallway and all three looked towards the door. A few seconds later James walked in holding his head. He looked up and jumped a little to see Sirius and Hestia looking back at him.

"Don't do that." James said as he rubbed his eyes.

"Are you all right?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Don't shout." James said as he held his head in his hands again and sat down in the chair opposite Lily. Lily stood up and walked over to the cabinet and took out a green bottle and then took a glass from another cabinet. She walked over to James and sat the glass and the bottle down in front him.

"Take that, it'll help you feel better." She said before walking out of the room. James watched her hazy figure walk away and shook his head trying to see her clearer. He poured the contents of the bottle into the glass.

"I wouldn't drink that if I were you." Sirius warned.

"Why not?" James asked as he put the glass to his lips.

"Because Lily found out about you and Amelia and I don't think she's too happy." Sirius said. James nearly choked as the liquid went down his throat. He spluttered before speaking.

"H-How did she find out?" James asked as he turned to look at Sirius. Sirius explained what James's mother had said to Lily just after he left. James sighed and put his head in his hands even though the pain that was once there had subsided.

"Since when were they engaged?" Hestia asked the question she had asked a few hours before.

"We weren't." James said with a shake of his head.

"I don't understand." Hestia said as she looked from Sirius to James. James muttered some curse words before standing up.

"I don't mean to be rude but could you guys leave, this could take a while." James said with a frown.

"Hestia, let's go to Remus's, I'll explain everything there." Sirius said before disapparating.

"Tell Lily to owl me." Hestia said before she too disapparated. James looked into the hallway with a frown. He really didn't want to have this confrontation right now. All he wanted to do was go to sleep with Lily in his arms. He walked up the stairs with a sigh and knocked on his bedroom door. As he opened it he saw Lily sitting on the bed reading a piece of parchment, a few other pieces of parchment were strewn across the bed. Lily didn't bother to look up as James walked into the room.

"Umm hey." James said cautiously. He was greeted with an annoyed sigh. "Look umm I think we need to umm talk." James stuttered as he closed the bedroom door.

"You think?" Lily said harshly as she looked at James forgetting about the parchment in her hand.

"I can explain everything, okay." James said as he sat down on the bed and tried to take her hand but she pulled it away.

"I think your mother explained everything perfectly James." Lily said as she stood up and walked towards the dresser.

"Look Lily you don't know the facts." James said he turned to look at her.

"What's to know? You were in love with one of my friends and also engaged and yet you neglected to tell me this especially since I told you about my engagement with Todd." Lily said angrily.

"Amelia and I weren't engaged!" James angrily.

"Then what the hell was you mother talking about then?" Lily spat angrily as she turned to look at him, tears welling up in her eyes.

"My mother just got the wrong end of the stick okay." James said as he stood up and took a hold of Lily's hands in a firm grip. "She knew Amelia and I had dated and thought that we still were when she saw Amelia one day in Hogsmeade. My Mother went and said hello to her and that's when she saw a ring on Amelia's finger and mistook it to have been an engagement ring." James said. "She was so happy that I just never got around to telling her that we were never engaged. So instead of telling her that we weren't engaged and that we had recently broken up, I told her that we were going through a rough time. Then after a week I told her that Amelia and I broke up. She thought Amelia was nice so I told her it was a mutual decision." James ended as he looked at Lily.

"That's the most craziest story I have ever heard." Lily said with a raised eyebrow.

"I know but it's the truth. My mother just seemed so happy at the thought of me settling down that I didn't want to break her heart." James said with a helpless shrug as he let go of Lily's hands and walked over to the window.

"James, I don't care that you guys were engaged or in the case being not engaged. I care because you dated one of my friends and you deliberately kept it a secret. It's like me telling you I dated Remus." Lily said causing James to spin around and look at her. "I haven't but how you felt in those five seconds is how I have been feeling the past five hours. You should have told me." Lily said abruptly. She really wanted to break something and James's left arm was looking very appealing at that moment.

"I'm telling you now." James said.

"Only because your mother let it slip." Lily said through gritted teeth.

"I knew I should have bloody told you, Amelia told me you'd get like this if you heard it from someone else." James said as he turned away from her.

"Then you should have taken her advice." Lily spat.

"Why are you making a big deal out of this? I dated your friend, so what? It's not like we got married and had children." James said angrily.

"It's a big deal because you obviously loved her if you felt the need to hide it from me." Lily said. All the anger deflating into numbness. "And what makes it worse for me is that you might still love her especially if you were willing to keep it a secret for so long." Lily said as tears welled in her eyes.

"I don't love her, I love you." James said as he crossed the room and took her hands. He tried to look into Lily's eyes but she was looking at the ground. He could see a tear drop fall from her cheek and onto the wooden floor.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lily choked out as she continued to look at the ground.

"I didn't want to hurt you." James said desperately.

"Then what do you call this?" Lily asked as the tears flowed down her cheeks. James tried to hug her but she pushed him away. "I need to be on my own." Lily said as she walked away from him and out of the room. James followed her out the door and down the stairs.

"Where are you going?" James asked as Lily pulled on her jacket that was in the hall.

"I don't know." Lily said before she disapparated. James sighed and sat down on the stairs and put his head in his hands. He couldn't believe this was happening, he couldn't believe that Lily was angry with him because of a stupid relationship that had happened almost two years ago.

* * *

Lily didn't even realise where she was until she recognised the small house she was standing in front off. She wiped her tears away and made sure that it looked as if she were never crying before she knocked on the front door. Lily waited a few seconds before Alice pulled the door open.

"Hi Lily, come in." Alice said with a grin. Lily smiled and walked in. "What brings you by?" Alice said as she took Lily's jacket and hung it up before walking into the kitchen.

"I just popped by for a chat." Lily said with a shrug.

"Great, I need one after the day I've had." Alice said with a chuckle. "Sit down and I'll make us a cup of tea." Alice said as she walked over to the kettle that was on the stove. "So how are things? How is the new job going?" Alice asked as she poured the tea into two cups.

"It's great but it's a lot different than working with James and Frank." Lily said with a shrug. "There is a lot more telling people what to do. Feels like I'm Head Girl back at Hogwarts again." Lily said with a chuckle.

"Frank was telling me that you're working on the Lombard case. How's that going?" Alice asked as she handed Lily her cup and sat down opposite Lily at the kitchen table.

"It's crazy. I'm not allowed to say anything else about it I'm afraid." Lily said with a sad smile.

"Don't worry about it, the story has been haunting me for days." Alice said with a shake of her head.

"Let's talk about better things. How's the wedding going?" Lily asked curiously as she blew on her tea before taking a sip.

"Frank's mother was over earlier _helping_ to plan." Alice said with a roll of her eyes. "That woman is getting on my last nerve, she feels that she has a right to interfere." Alice said with a sigh. Lily chuckled knowing full well what it was like dealing with an interfering future mother in law. "We butt heads on everything; the flowers, the colour of the bridesmaid dresses, where the reception is going to be held. The only thing we are agreeing on is to keep the wedding dress white." Alice said with a shake of her head.

"I hate to tell you this but it's going to get much worse." Lily said with a chuckle.

"Oh yes, I forgot you were engaged." Alice said with a grin. "Tell me Lily, how did you deal with it?" Alice asked as she leaned on the kitchen table and looked at Lily hopefully.

"Lot's of alcohol." Lily said with a chuckle causing Alice to laugh. "No I'm kidding, I got Todd to have a word with her. She backed off but when we called the whole thing off she claimed it was because she didn't organise it." Lily said with a roll of her eyes and a chuckle. "Trust me all mother in laws are the same." Lily said with as she sipped her tea.

"I take it then that you and James will be eloping when the time comes." Alice said with a chuckle causing Lily to falter a bit.

"Well we'll have to see about that." Lily said as she drank her tea hoping that the cup would cover her face.

"Don't tell me you haven't thought about it." Alice said.

"I'm not going to deny that I haven't but James and I have a few creases we need to iron out before that day comes." Lily said as she set her cup back down.

"You two are perfect for each other and I've always thought so. Even whilst you were engaged I know that the right person for you was James." Alice said with a grin as she drank her tea. "And I always thought the best person for him was you. I've seen him in other relationships but I can tell you that he has never looked at anyone the way he looks at you." Alice added as she set her cup down.

"Have you been talking to him?" Lily asked raising an eyebrow curiously.

"No." Alice said shaking her head and looking at Lily quizzically. "Why?"

"Umm we got into a fight. I found out about him and Amelia dating." Lily said as she looked at the oak table.

"If you don't mind me asking, why were you fighting? From what I know that relationship ended almost two years ago." Alice said.

"I found out from his mother, something I felt he should have told me." Lily said.

"Because you and Amelia are friends." Alice stated. Lily nodded her head.

"You get it, why doesn't he? He thought I was making a big deal out of it but yet he knew that it was going to upset me." Lily said with an annoyed sigh.

"He's a male." Alice said with a chuckle. "He doesn't understand why it's a big deal." Alice said with a shrug.

"But why don't guys feel the same way?" Lily asked.

"The same way as what?" A voice asked. Lily and Alice looked up to see Frank walking into the room. "Hi Lily." He said as he walked over to the kettle and poured himself a cup of tea.

"Never mind, honey." Alice said. "Lily, guys don't see it as a big deal because they don't see ex-boyfriends as a threat. But girls see ex-girlfriends as a threat especially if they are constantly around, like the way Amelia is."

"Why do you see ex-girlfriends as a threat though?" Frank asked as he sipped his tea.

"There is always the risk that the guy will think the ex is better than his current girlfriend." Lily said with a shrug.

"That's were trust comes in." Frank said with a shrug. Lily went quiet as did Frank and Alice. Frank looked at Alice questioningly; Alice mouthed 'Later' to him hoping that he got the hint.

CRASH!

The sound caused Lily, Frank and Alice to jump as they looked in the direction of the hallway. They could hear voices in the hallway. Lily pulled out her wand and stood up slowly but was blown back against the wall as a hex was shot in her direction. She didn't even see who had done it. She couldn't see any of the figures as she was on the ground behind the table. She could however see black robes and she knew who owned them. Lily could hear one of the deatheaters shoot a curse in the direction of Frank but it was quickly blocked. She could see more figures appear in the room as she tried to catch her breath. She stood up quickly and shot a curse at the first deatheater she saw. He fell in pain as another deatheater turned to Lily. Lily quickly deflected it before shooting another hex.

Lily could faintly make out Alice in all of the movement.

"Alice, Lily get out of here." Frank shouted as he punched one of the deatheaters in the nose before ducking as a hex flew his way. But Lily and Alice never left; they refused to leave without him.

"Lily get down." Alice screamed as a deatheater threw a hex at Lily but Lily couldn't react in time. She fell to the ground in pain as the cruciatus curse was put upon her. She screamed in pain as she could feel her insides tighten and boil. It was like no feeling she had ever felt before. She had never felt this much pain, and she knew that it was unlike any pain that she would ever feel because this was the closest thing to death that their was. She prayed in her mind for it to stop.

Then it did and Lily lay there breathing heavily as though her ribcage was restricting her right to breathe. She tried to move her head to see what was going on but there didn't seem to be any movement in the room. Then she felt herself move up into the air. It was slowly but she could feel gravity trying to pull her back down. She felt her body being thrown onto the kitchen table, as there was an eerie silence around her. Her back hurt with the force of her being thrown against the wall as well as onto the table. Lily moved her head to the side and she saw him, she saw them.

Frank and Alice were being held by deatheaters as a wand was being held to Frank's neck. Lily's eyes travelled the length of the wand; pale hands held it tightly. Her eyes travelled along the arm, black robes covered them. Her eyes travelled up along the face, pale waxy skin stretched across the bones. Her eyes travelled up to his eyes, red orbs stared back at her.

"I hope you are watching, Ms Evans." The chipper voice said. "You will be next." The mirthless voice laughed. "Do it or I will kill her." Voldemort said as he looked back to Frank and moved his wand to Alice's neck.

"I will never." Frank said through gritted teeth.

"Wrong answer." Voldemort said. "Crucio." Voldemort didn't shot this hex at Alice instead it was aimed at Lily. The pain she had wished she would never feel again was making her contort against the table as she screamed for it to stop. All Lily could hear was his gleeful laughter. Then it stopped once again. Voldemort turned his wand back to Alice. "I will torture it out of you Longbottom."

"Then do it." Frank spat. Voldemort threw the cruciatus cures at Frank and he writhed in pain.

"STOP!" Alice screamed as she squirmed against the deatheater holding her. Voldemort took the curse off Frank and turned to Alice.

"Then you tell me little girl." Voldemort said through gritted teeth.

"You're an Asshole." Alice spat at him as she continued to squirm against the deatheater.

"Crucio." Voldemort said, this time making Alice scream out in pain. Frank tried to scream but he could barely breath as it was. Voldemort stopped the torture. He then turned to Lily with a smirk across his thin lips. He walked towards her as he looked at her lying on the table, hunger evident in his blazing eyes. Lily felt as if she was going to be sick, in fact it was in her throat but she didn't have the energy to be sick. "Where is it Miss Evans?" Voldemort said chillingly as he held his wand to the side of her head. Lily didn't know what he was asking for. Hello, if he didn't remember she was being tortured whilst that conversation was going on. "Where is the phoenix?" Voldemort said angrily as he was getting annoyed with the silence. But Lily couldn't speak because the bile was still in her throat, edging its way up into her mouth. Then he got sick of asking. "Crucio." He screamed. Lily contorted in pain once again but the bile in her throat was making her choke. She couldn't scream out in pain but her face was turning red very fast.

She could feel it so close now. The pain was ripping through her, tearing her to shreds, piece by piece. Her eyes lolled back into her head as she continued to choke. It was getting closer, so very close. She stopped praying for the pain to stop, now she praying for her death to come quicker. She had never wished herself to die but she did now. She wished that she had stayed in bed that morning with James instead of forcing him to get up. She wished she were with James now, in his arms, kissing him, making love to him. She continued to choke and contort in pain as he laughed with pleasure. It was so close now; so close she could touch it. Then it disappeared; everything disappeared. Everything went black.

* * *

Hestia ran down the hall in search of ward twenty-nine. She rounded a corner and saw a familiar figure leaning against the wall with their arms crossed. She ran towards him and he looked up. There were bags under his eyes and he looked as if he hadn't slept in days. When she reached him she pulled him into a hug, thankful that he was okay.

"How is she?" Hestia asked as she pulled away.

"She's very weak." Remus said sadly. "She hasn't woken up yet. The medi-wizard said that she should be awake soon but we have to let her rest and not to ask her questions." Remus said quietly as a woman holding a child walked by and gave the pair a sad smile. "He said something about her throat being blocked. They had to give her some potion or something to clear away the fluid or something." Remus said with a shake of his head. Hestia let a dry sob escape her mouth as she turned to look into the ward through the window. She saw that there were six beds in the ward and Lily lay in one at the far side. Two other beds were occupied with sleeping figures.

"Couldn't they have given her a private room or something?" Hestia asked angrily.

"James tried but they're full up, it's like a bloody hotel." Remus sighed angrily.

"How is he doing?" Hestia asked as she kept her back to Remus.

"I really don't know." Remus said sadly with a shake of his head.

"What happened?" Hestia asked as she turned to look at Remus.

"He tortured her, as well as Frank and Alice. I don't know what about, Dumbledore is with them now. They're going to be fine, just a few scrapes and bruises and a twisted ankle for Alice. Something about kicking a deatheater." Remus said with a dry chuckle. Hestia looked down the corridor as she heard footsteps. She was relieved to see that Sirius was okay. He came up to the pair holding three plastic cups of coffee. Remus carefully took two of them. "I'll give this to James." Remus said as he walked into the ward. Once he left, Hestia wrapped her arms around Sirius.

"Thank Merlin you're all right." Hestia said with a sigh before pulling away. Sirius smiled sadly at her.

"Yeah, well, you know." Sirius said with an awkward shrug. "You want some coffee?" Sirius offered her the cup that was in his hand.

"No thanks, can't stand the stuff. Thanks to Lily, I'm a tea person." Hestia said with a soft chuckle. Sirius leaned against the wall as he looked into the ward. There was silence between the pair as a medi-wizard walked down the hall and in into the ward to check on one of the sleeping patients.

"I found her." Sirius said quietly as he stared into his untouched coffee. Hestia looked at him curiously. "She looked as if she were sleeping. But she was having a nightmare." Sirius went quiet once again, as Hestia looked away, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have told you that." Sirius said with a heavy sigh. "I just needed to tell someone." He added as he looked at her. Hestia gave him a small smile before he left her and walked into the ward.

Hestia tried to blink back the tears that were welling up in her eyes. She tried to hold it together for the sake of her friends and James. He didn't need to see her like this, none of them did. Remus walked out of the ward and saw her head bowed. He walked up beside her, set his cup down on the ground then pulled Hestia into a hug. She broke down in his arms and cried.

* * *

James sat quietly reading an article about domestic charms in Witch Weekly. He wasn't even interested in the article or the magazine; he just wanted to do something to pass the time. He hated sitting about feeling helpless. He wanted to be doing something, anything. He looked at her sleeping figure, she was so beautiful. He couldn't understand why someone would want to put such a beautiful being through so much pain. He threw the magazine onto the small cabinet beside Lily's bed and sighed heavily before putting his head in his hands.

"Maybe you should go home and get some rest." Sirius said worriedly as he looked at his best friend.

"No." James said in a monotone.

"James you haven't slept in twenty-" Sirius looked at his watch, "-two hours. You need your rest. Go home and get some sleep. If she wakes up we'll get you." Sirius said.

"No, I can't go home." James said as he looked back at Lily.

"Then go to my place." Sirius offered as he sat up in the seat he was sitting in that was on Lily's other side.

"What if she wakes up and I'm not here?" James said as he looked at Sirius.

"Then I'll come and get you, I promise." Sirius said.

"No." James said again in the same monotone voice.

"If she wakes up and sees you like that, she'll kill us for not making you go home and resting. Go to my place and get some rest, I've a sleeping draught in the bathroom cabinet to help you sleep. Then get a shower and try to fix your hair." Sirius said with a grin. "She'll wake up if she knows she has something handsome other than me to wake up to." Sirius added with a chuckle.

"I'm always handsome." James said dryly.

"Now go." Sirius said.

"Fine, but you better come and get me." James warned as he stood up.

"Marauders promise." Sirius said as he put his hand over his heart. James sighed then leaned down and kissed Lily on the head.

"I love you." He whispered before walking out of the ward. He disapparated back to Sirius's apartment. He lay down on the couch as sleep crept over his body, forgetting about the sleeping draught.

He could feel himself being roughly awoken.

"James get up. Quick. She's awake." A voice called. James opened his eyes to see Peter standing above him. "She's awake." Peter said with a smile. James jumped up then apparated to the hospital. He climbed the stairs until he got to the fourth floor. He ran down the corridor until he reached ward twenty-nine. He walked in to see his beloved Lily sitting up in bed looking around her. She watched him curiously as he walked towards her.

"Lily, you're all right." James said happily.

"Lily? Who is Lily? Do I know you?" Lily said wonderingly as she stared blankly at James.

James bolted up on the couch breathing heavily. He looked around to see that he was in Sirius's living room. "It was a dream, it was all a just a bad dream." James said to himself as he lay back down. He tried to get back to sleep but he couldn't as his dream continued to haunt him. Every time he closed his eyes he could see Lily's blank stare as if the image was plastered to the back of his eyelids. He decided to get up and take a shower hoping that that would clear his mind.

As he stood in the shower letting the water run over his aching muscles he prayed that what had happened the previous day was just a really bad dream. When he opened his eyes again he would be at home in his own shower, Lily would be sneaking in behind him hoping to scare him but she never would because he would always hear her. He would turn around and smile mischievously as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her passionately, letting the water wash over them both. When James opened his eyes he saw that his prayers were not answered. He was standing in Sirius's shower with the images of his beloved Lily lying limply in Sirius's arms.

James turned the shower off then dried himself before leaving the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. He walked into Sirius's room hoping to borrow some clothes as his own were a bit ripped from the previous day. Sirius was the same build as James if not a tad bit more muscular, so his clothes fitted James perfectly. He picked a pair of dark jeans and a black sweater. Once he was dressed he tried to fix his hair but it was a futile attempt, as it just wouldn't sit. He disapparated to the hospital and made his way up to the fifth floor before going to see Lily. He picked up a beautiful bouquet of daisies before going back down stairs. He walked into the ward to see that other people in it were awake. He felt a bit silly walking about with flowers but the feeling subsided as he saw his friends around Lily's bed, he also saw Dumbledore talking quietly with Remus. James walked towards the bed, hoping more and more that she was awake. He sighed when he reached the bed and saw that his beloved Lily was still unconscious.

* * *

You know that last bit with James in the shower was totally inspired by Will Smith in **I, Robot**. Now that is a good film and what a way to keep a girl hooked having Will Smith naked at the _start_ of the movie, now that made me stay and watch! Anyway enough of that I have thank you's to say!!!!

Charlotte (secondatbat9) Darkflower? Hmm never heard of them.

James and Lily 4eva Ahh what do you expect a girl in Lily's position to do? The poor girl is jealous of Amelia and she is supposed to be a friend.

Missers Are you still waiting patiently or have you totally given up on me like most people do lol. I can't wait to start writing more Philippe stuff it should be funny but just between me and you - and the rest of the people who will read this – Philippe isn't the only one making an appearance, I'm not allowed to tell you anymore though but let's just say this person appearance won't be very good for Lily and James's relationship **WINK WINK**

Satans little fairy Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Nikki It's not James's life you should be worryin about anymore oh and only time will tell between Hestia and Remus :-D

Agloechen I agree stupid male! You story reminds me this one time when I was on my way home on the bus. This guy who is a year younger than me is like really funny and a bit of a charmer. Anyway he has this wee fanclub of really young girls who surround him on the bus all the time. Anyway he put his hand on one of the girls' head and started shouting; "Get your head of my hand! Get your head of my hand!" It was so funny and one of those 'you had to be there moments'.

Me Thanks for reviewing

Sam There wasn't much of Remus in the last story and I blame his girlfriend Jenny for that if you catch my drift ;-D oh and I doubt Sirius and Hestia are gonna come out of my stories happily ever after, which should be fun to write about. Oh and the whole boyfriend being compared to James thing, I totally agree with ya the guy should be so lucky if I even mentioned his name in the same sentence as James. I have really gotta stop writing about James in a good way. _Shakes head_ ahh well my future husband will just have to deal!

Jessie Ahh you were a reader – did you tell me that before???? I have a very vague memory!!!!! Oh I just realised that in both my stories on here I have Lily unconscious – totally coincidental!!! That's so weird!!!!

Dandylion345 Thank you for reading and reviewing!!!! – oh my god there is a huge spider on my wall!!!!!!!! Okay so it's not that big but still it's a spider!!!!!

Ashlyn (canadianphoenix) Oh my god the spider is so moving closer!!!!!!!! – Sorry umm I'm glad you like the story!!!!! Sorry about not having a makeup scene but trust me there will be a lot of those in this story!!!! Oh and did you know that I write a story on and Ashlyn is the main character – freaky or what, Okay where did that spider go????

Umm so thanks everyone for reading and I hope you all review!!!! Where the hell did that spider go????? I'm getting way freaked. I think I might call it Thing 1 – because there is one of it!!!! OMG Sorry I'm laughing right now cuz I just saw an episode of One Tree Hill where Lucas and Nathan get thrown of the bus and it reminded of the bit were these guys say 'I'm Thing … I'm Thing 1." Then Lucas or Nathan says "Let me guess you're thing 2?" But the other guys says "No I'm Thing 3 because there is 3 of us." I thought that was so funny!!!! Anyway enough I'm away to Hunt a spider!!!!! Please Review!!!!!!

Eimear


	5. Chapter 5

_OMG!!!!! I am so sorry I had this up on Thursday that is like three days ago!!!! I swear I did cause my fromal was then and if you read below you will know!!!! I went to my account to see if their where any reviews and there was 1 and I was like hold on a minute thats a review for chapter 4 WHERE THE HELL IS CHAPTER 5?!?!?!? Then I realised it wasn't even up!!!! With all the excitement of my formal I put it into my account but I never published it, how crazy is that!!!! Anyway it's here now so ..._

I am so so so so so so sorry!!!!!! I have been so distracted these past couple of weeks. What with working and going back to school and the mountain of homework and also my formal (Prom but with a dinner and an after party that lasts until 5 in the morning! _I only lasted to 2 o'clock in the morning I'm such a fader!_) I'm sorry if everythin seems rushed but I'm kinda going to my formal TONIGHT well actually in 3 hours and I'm on here writing this!!!!! If there are any mistakes I'm sorry but this is all sorta rushed!!!!!!

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Disclaimer: I own nothing that you find familiar from the Harry Potter books as that is all JK Rowlings creation not mine. The only thing that is mine is the story idea.

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Chapter 5

James sighed heavily as he saw that Lily still had not woken from her coma-induced sleep. He set the flowers on the cabinet beside her bed and leaned down and kissed her head before sitting down in the seat he had been sitting in a few hours before.

"The medi-wizard came round a while ago to do a check up." Hestia said from her seat beside Sirius. James looked at her questioningly. "The bruising on her back has healed up, there should be no scars. As for her throat it might be difficult for her to talk … if umm when she wakes up." Hestia mumbled.

"_When_ she wakes up." James corrected darkly. Sirius looked at James with a raised eyebrow. James sighed and shook his head. "Sorry Hestia."

"Don't apologise." Hestia said.

"Did you sleep?" Sirius asked as he looked at James. He didn't look as tired as he had before but he still looked stressed.

"Sort of. I borrowed some clothes." James said as he looked at Lily's angelic form.

"I noticed. They look better on me." Sirius said with a small smile. A small yet distinct smile crossed James's lips.

"Don't you guys have work?" James asked as he looked at his friends.

"You've all been given a few days off." Dumbledore interjected. James looked at the old man and nodded his head. He looked a lot older than James had seen him. He looked tired and stressed as if holding the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"How are Alice and Frank?" James asked.

"They are fine. They are going home this afternoon." Remus said. James nodded his head thoughtfully before looking back at Lily.

"Have they told you what happened?" James asked, as he never took his eyes of Lily. It had been running through his mind all night, the question of what had happened.

"Yes." Dumbledore said solemnly. James looked at Dumbledore questioningly, waiting for him to tell the story. "I wish not to speak of these things in a public place. If you wish we could go somewhere private?" Dumbledore offered. James looked at Lily then back to Dumbledore.

"I think I can wait a while." James said as he looked back to Lily.

"Very well." Dumbledore said. "I think I'll check on Alice and Frank. I will see you all later." Dumbledore said before he left the room.

"I think I'm gonna get something to eat. Is anyone hungry?" Remus asked.

"I'm okay." Sirius said as he flipped through a magazine.

"James?" Remus asked causing James to look at him.

"Uh? Oh umm I'm okay." James said as he looked back to Lily. Remus looked at James wearily then turned to Hestia.

"I'll come with you." Hestia said before Remus could ask her. When they left Sirius put the magazine down and looked at James carefully. He didn't know what he should say to James to make him feel better, he knew there was nothing that would make him feel happier than to see Lily okay.

"I don't know what I would do without her." James said in a small voice, his eyes still on Lily. Sirius had never seen his best friend look so vulnerable. He always had a positive attitude about life and never let things get him down because he knew that there was always someone worse off. But in the past few weeks Lily had become James's whole world. She was the spark in his eye, the reason he smiled on a Monday morning, the reason why he rushed home at the end of the workday.

Sirius had never saw James so happy than he had been these past few weeks – no strike that he had. It was in seventh year the day before their first N.E.W.T. exam and the day after James had kissed Lily in the library.

* * *

"Stop smiling, you're making me nervous." Peter said to James. The four boys were sitting at the Gryffindor table having breakfast.

"But it is an absolutely wonderful morning, Peter. Why wouldn't I smile?" James grinned as he forked his bacon and put it into his mouth.

"Shouldn't you be hung over? You came back with an empty bottle of vodka last night." Remus said curiously as he looked at James over his Transfiguration textbook. But James wasn't paying attention to him as he had seen the most beautiful creature walk through the great hall doors. Lily noticed him also and gave him a smile before sitting down beside Amelia and Hestia at the table.

"What was that about?" Peter asked with a slight smile. James looked at him then shook his head but the smile was still plastered on his face.

"James didn't drink alone last night, did you Prongs?" Sirius asked with a bemused smile. James shook his head and looked at his best friend. "And would I be wrong in saying that you where with Lily erm _studying_?" Sirius asked. James once again shook his head.

"What happened?" Peter asked eagerly. James blushed a little and looked down at his plate.

"We kissed." James said before looking back at his friends and biting his lip to keep the smile from getting too wide.

"But James you have a girlfriend." Remus said.

"All you did was kiss, and this is causing you to smile like a lunatic. I hate to see what you would be like if you guys shagged." Sirius said with a shake of his head.

"If who shagged?" A voice asked from beside James. James looked up to see Kristi, his girlfriend and Lily's rival in everything. James's face paled and the smile disappeared from his face.

"Ummm…" James began but Sirius cut him off.

"If Hestia and Remus shagged." Sirius said nonchalantly.

"Oh." Kristi said before sitting down beside James. "So where were you last night? I thought we were going to study together?" Kristi asked.

"Ummm…" James began again but this time he was cut off by an excited scream. He looked down the length of the table to see Lily with a gleeful expression on her face and holding a piece of parchment in her hand.

"I got in! I got in to Benocot!" Lily screamed happily. Hestia pulled Lily into a hug then took the parchment out of her hands to read it as Amelia read over her shoulder. Lily smiled happily in a daze but then she caught James's eyes. The smile disappeared a little as his sad eyes looked at her. She shifted her gaze to the person sitting beside James then looked back at James with hard eyes. She turned back to Hestia and the smile reappeared. James looked at the table then to his girlfriend.

"Ummm I guess I lost track of time. I'm sorry babe, we can study together later if you want." James said as he turned so that his back was to Lily.

"That would be great." Kristi said happily before kissing James on the lips and walking away. James looked at her empty seat; that kiss had been nothing compared to the one he shared with Lily the night before. He sighed heavily before turning back to his friends.

"I thought…" Peter trailed off.

"Nothings going to happen between Lily and I. She got accepted to a university in America and I already have a girlfriend. It's bad timing." James said as he took a sip from his goblet.

* * *

For those few hours James had been really happy before the real world slapped him in the face. But now the real world involved Lily and James being together. And once again the real world was threatening to take Lily from James.

"Lily's not going anywhere." Sirius said reassuringly to James. James looked at Sirius and gave him a small smile.

"Thanks." James muttered. He looked back at Lily and once again tried to mesmerise her every feature. He didn't notice a figure standing at the foot of Lily's bed until the person spoke.

"How's she doin?" An American accent asked. James looked up to see a person he had only ever met once. He hadn't changed very much he was still the same tall, dark and gay guy that he had met three and a half years ago in a club in New York. James noticed Sirius looking at him oddly.

"Sirius this is Philippe, a friend of Lily's from America." James introduced. Sirius eyebrows raised in recognition and shook Philippe's outstretched hand.

"Nice too meet you, umm I think I'm going to join Hestia and Remus." Sirius said before leaving the two men.

"So how's she doin?" Philippe asked his question once again.

"The Medi-wizards said that she should be fine when she wakes up. She had some bruising on her back but they h-healed that right up." James said repeating what Hestia had told him earlier.

"_When_ she wakes up?" Philippe asked worriedly.

"She passed out and she hasn't woken up yet." James said as he looked at Lily. "I'm sorry I should have contacted you. How did you find out, anyway?" James asked as he looked at Philippe wearily.

"The hospital called. I guess she hasn't changed any of her emergency contact numbers." Philippe said as he sat down on the seat that Sirius had occupied. James nodded his head in understanding then looked back at Lily.

"Are you thirsty or anything? I'm sure you had a long trip – how did you get here?" James asked curiously, as he looked Philippe.

"Oh I flooed from Todd's." Philippe said causing James to look at him. "She did tell you about Todd didn't she?" Philippe asked.

"Yeah." James said airily then looked back at Lily.

"He was gonna come but he thought he wouldn't be that welcome, especially after…" Philippe trailed off.

"He should've." James said with a half-hearted nod. "I'm gonna get something to eat. Do you want anything?" James said as he stood awkwardly.

"I'm okay." Philippe said.

"Okay um I'll be right back." James said as he walked out of the ward.

James sighed heavily as the door closed behind him. He rubbed his face and leaned against the wall. He didn't want to talk about Lily's ex or even his own for that matter. All he wanted was for Lily to wake up and reassure him that everything would be okay. It was Monday afternoon, he wasn't supposed to be sitting in a hospital. He was supposed to be training in the gym with Sirius whilst thinking about the amazing sex that he had had with Lily that morning. This wasn't how life was supposed to be. Lily wasn't supposed to be lying in a hospital bed, she was supposed to be at work putting criminals in jails and thinking about James. But life never works out as planned as James was soon coming to realise.

"Are you okay?" A feminine voice, that James knew all to well, asked. James looked at Amelia and sighed.

"Fine, what're doing here?" He asked coolly, as he stood straight.

"To see Lily of course." Amelia said as if it were obvious.

"Of course." James said with a shake of his head. "Sorry, it's just been a long day." James said as he looked in through the window of the ward.

"I bet." Amelia said as she did the same. "Who's the guy?" Amelia asked as she looked back at James.

"A friend of Lily's from America." James replied.

"Her ex?" Amelia asked curiously with a raised eyebrow. James shook his head and sighed before turning away from the window and looking at Amelia.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" James asked.

"I'm on a break. Thought I'd come to see if Lily was okay." Amelia said. "The office is like a funeral parlour. Of all people to be attacked…" Amelia said with a shake of her head. "Do they know why?" Amelia asked as she looked at James.

"No, Dumbledore's working on it though." James said in a monotone. There was silence between the pair as a medi-wizard walked by them.

"She'll be okay, you know." Amelia said.

"Um." James replied as he looked at the ground.

"You aren't thinking of doing anything stupid are you?" Amelia asked worriedly. This caused James to look at her. "James don't do anything stupid. When Lily wakes up she'll want you sitting beside her not trying to kill someone in her honour." Amelia warned.

"I can't just sit here and wait, Amelia. It's not me you know that." James said angrily. It was the first real outburst James had had and it really made him feel better. Staying calm wasn't helping him. He needed to get the aggression out.

"I also know Lily and this is the last thing she would want." Amelia replied just as angrily. "If you truly love her then be with her." Amelia said a lot more calmly.

"Of course I love her, but I have to do something." James said as he rubbed his face.

"Why do you need to be doing something, James? Can't you just be with her?" Amelia asked.

"I can't sit in that room and know that the reason why she's unconscious is because of me." James said angrily as he pointed into the ward.

"It's not your fault James." Amelia tried to reason with him. "You didn't put that spell on her."

"But she was there, in that house, because of me. I might as well have tried to kill her myself." James said quietly.

"Do you wanna go somewhere and talk about this?" Amelia asked as a few visitors walked by the pair and looked at them curiously. James never said anything so Amelia took his arm and led him towards an empty waiting room. The pair walked into the room and sat down on uncomfortable grey seats. Amelia looked at James and urged him to talk.

"James you can tell me, we're friends." Amelia said.

"She found out about us, our past." James said as he looked at Amelia. Her face visibly paled.

"Everything? Even what your mother thought?" Amelia asked. James nodded. "Does she know we never were…" Amelia trailed off. James nodded.

"It was our first real fight, we've never fought like that. She was screaming and crying." James said with a shake of his head. "She thinks I'm in love with you." James said as he looked at Amelia.

"Why would she think that?" Amelia asked.

"Cause I never told her about us." James said as he put his head in his hands. "But she knows I love her, why would she think differently?" James asked as he looked at Amelia.

"Think about the last guy she was in a relationship with. The guy cheated on her with one of her friends. You can't blame her for being a little paranoid." Amelia said.

"I should've told her then none of this would've happened." James said. "If anything happens to her…" James trailed off.

"Don't think like that." Amelia said. Suddenly James stood up.

"I gotta go." James said as he walked towards the door.

"Where are you –?" Amelia began but James had already left.

* * *

"Did he say where he was going?" Hestia asked Sirius. Sirius shook his head.

"Amelia said he just left." Sirius said. The pair was sitting with Philippe at Lily's bedside a few hours later.

"Does he always do things like this?" Philippe asked curiously.

"No, he's usually the calm one." Hestia said. "Sirius you don't think he would've gone after them do you?" Hestia asked cautiously after a few minutes.

"No, he wouldn't have gone without me. The guy's not dumb." Sirius said with a shake of his head.

"But you know what he's like when it comes to Lily. He punched Amos Diggory because he said she had a funny colour of hair." Hestia said with a chuckle causing Philippe to laugh.

"The guy was fifteen, he worshipped Lily back then." Sirius said with a smile. "Although I think he still does." Sirius added.

"Well I think Lily feels the same." Philippe said with a smile. "The woman doesn't stop talking about him. Every week on the phone its 'James said this and James said that.' She's crazy about him."

"I'd like to hope so. They've been through so much just to get where they are now and trust me they should be more." Hestia said with a shake of her head.

"Where should they be?" Sirius asked.

"Married with at least two kids by now. If Kristi hadn't been about they would've been together a long time ago." Hestia said.

"James is much to selfish to have a child." Sirius chuckled. "Lily's the same, they love being alone together too much to have a child."

"That is true. I don't know how many times I've walked in on them with their tongues down each others throats or worse." Hestia laughed.

"I didn't think Lily was like that. She seems like a very private person." Philippe said.

"She is, so is James. But we just happen to have a key to their house." Sirius said with a grin. "You should see Lily's face when she gets caught in the act though." Sirius laughed. "James just wants to kill you." Sirius added.

"Have you ever seen James's face when you ask him about Lily?" Hestia said thoughtfully. "It's like … it's really hard to explain but it's just like the sun coming out from behind a dark cloud. He really loves her." Hestia said as she looked at Lily.

"I think he'll pop the question soon." Sirius said.

"You think?" Philippe asked.

"It's only a matter of time. James is the romantic type, always has been. He treats women like queens, and always wants to give them the best." Sirius said sincerely. "He loves Lily more than life that's why he's freaking out."

"He seemed like he was doing all right." Philippe said.

"That's all a front. He's afraid to lose her but I don't think he knows just how much she loves him. You should have seen him after their fight." Sirius said as he shook his head and crossed his arms.

"Fight?" Philippe asked.

"Lily found out that James dated one of her friends a while back." Hestia said.

"Oh and let me guess she thought it was the whole Todd thing all over again." Philippe said.

"Todd?" Sirius asked.

"Her ex-fiancé, he cheated on her with one of her friends." Hestia explained.

"Oh, so that's how it ended. Must say the guy is a bit stupid on it. I mean come on its Lily, why the hell would you wanna cheat on an amazing girl like that?" Sirius said with a shake of her head.

"Lily never loved Todd. He could never live up to her standards. There was only one man she loved and Todd knew it wasn't him." Philippe said.

"Who was the guy?" Sirius asked bewildered.

"James. It had always been James. When I first met her she was trying to forget him. He meant a lot to her and when they met again that night you all came over she couldn't get him out of her head. Todd was a welcome distraction then they got engaged but James was still there." Philippe explained. "Todd knew he was always being compared to someone he just never knew who. He couldn't deal with it anymore so he got really drunk and slept with someone Lily worked with. In fact I think you met her. She was the girl breaking all the glasses that night of the bachelor party."

"They should really get married." Hestia said. "It might stop all this do they love each other or don't they." Hestia said with a shake of her head.

"I leave for two hours and you all have already turned into gossiping old ladies." James said. "So who should get married?" James asked as he leaned down and kissed Lily's head before sitting down in the empty seat beside Sirius.

"Umm Fiona in Broom Control and that guy Henry in Law Enforcement." Hestia said quickly.

"What's in the bag?" Sirius asked.

"Just some clothes for Lily." James said. "Was the doctor in yet?" James asked curiously.

"No, should be in-" Hestia began.

"Hmmm." A small moan emitted from the sleeping form of Lily.

"That wasn't me." Sirius said quickly. James quickly stood up and took a hold of Lily's hand.

"Lily can you hear me?" James asked.

"Hmmm." Lily moaned again but this time she squeezed James's hand a little bit.

"Someone get the medi-wizard." James said urgently. Sirius did as was told and ran out of the ward. Lily's eyes fluttered a bit before slowly opening.

* * *

Everything was hazy and blurry and for some reason she could barley talk. She tried to speak but all that came out was a moan. She could hear someone calling her name but it seemed so far away. It was familiar but she couldn't place it. Then something green came into her blurry vision. A bright light suddenly shone in her eyes and she winced back at the brightness. She gripped the hand that was holding her own. The voices started to become a lot clearer as did the images.

"Lily can you hear me." A voice asked. It wasn't a voice she knew.

"Yes." Lily croaked out in a rough voice. She didn't understand why her throat hurt so much.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" The voice asked again. Lily could see four hazy fingers in front of her.

"Four." Lily said roughly.

"Lily I'm going to give you a potion, just open your mouth." The voice said.

"No." Lily said.

"Lily it's okay." The person who was holding her hands said as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Lily did as she was told and could feel a tingling sensation as the cool liquid ran down her throat. Things started to become less hazy and the ache in her throat lessened.

"That wasn't so bad. How many fingers am I holding up now?" The voice asked.

"Two." Lily said as she saw the person's fingers a lot clearer. It was easier for her to talk also.

"Much better. Lily do you know where you are?" The voice asked.

"St Mungo's." Lily said.

"Good. How's your vision? Can you see me any clearer." And indeed Lily could, she knew that it was a medi-wizard in front of her and that it was a man. Lily nodded her head. "Can you read what my name badge says?" Lily squinted but it suddenly became a lot clearer.

"Charlie." Lily said.

"Great, Lily it seems you are going to be just fine. We'll just keep you another night for observation. You had Mr Potter very worried." Charlie said with a grin. Lily turned her head to see James standing on the other side of the bed. She could see clearly enough to see his worried expression. She gave him a weary smile.

"I'm fine." Lily said wearily. James smiled and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"I'll be back later to check on you, Lily." Charlie said before nodding and leaving.

"Bye." Lily croaked.

"There's some other people here to see you." James said with a smile.

"Hmmm who?" Lily asked.

"Sirius, Hestia and Philippe." James said.

"Philippe?" Lily asked as she moved her head to the side.

"I'm here babes." Philippe said moving forward.

"What're you doing here?" Lily asked fatigued.

"To make sure you're all right." Philippe said with a grin. James kissed Lily's hand then went to let go but Lily didn't let go of his hand.

"Where you going?" Lily asked as she looked at him.

"I'm gonna give you guys some privacy." James said. Even though she was very weak she was able to pull James towards her.

"Don't go far, please." Lily said.

"I promise." James said as he leaned down and kissed Lily gently on the lips. Lily smiled as he walked out of the room with Sirius and Hestia.

"Didn't I tell you he was handsome?" Lily said with a tired grin as she looked at Philippe causing him to chuckle.

"You did mention it. How are you feeling? Do you want anything?" Philippe asked.

"I'm fine." Lily said.

* * *

James sighed gratefully as he walked out of the room. Lily was okay; she was going to be fine. Sirius and Hestia grinned at James as he leaned against the wall and put his hands to his face. Sirius patted James's shoulder.

"Told you she was going to be okay." Sirius said with a smile.

"I can't believe I nearly lost her." James said as he took his hands away from his face and leaned his head against the wall.

"We all nearly lost her." Hestia said as she looked into the ward.

"I'm sorry, Hestia. I-I never thought how anyone else." James said suddenly as he looked at Hestia but she looked at him and gave him a comforting smile.

"Don't be sorry, James. I know how much she means to you, I understand." Hestia smiled.

"Maybe we should owl Remus-" Sirius began.

"I'm right here." A voice said behind him. Hestia turned round to see Remus, Frank, Alice and a blonde, who was obviously Jenny, Remus's girlfriend. "Jenny you know, Hestia." Remus said.

"Hi." Jenny said kindly. Hestia felt like she wanted to slap the girl. Remus had his arm around her and she looked so perfect in her nurse's uniform.

"Hi." Hestia said with a forced smile, but nobody seemed to notice.

"Is Lily awake yet?" Alice asked.

"Yeah, she just woke up." James said with a smile. "The doctor said she was going to be fine."

"That's great James." Alice said as she hugged James.

"Yeah it is." James said.

"Shouldn't you be in there?" Remus asked curiously.

"She's talking with Philippe." Hestia said as she continued to eye Remus's arm around Jenny's waist. Remus's eyes lingered on her for a few seconds longer than normal before looking at the opening of the ward door. Philippe walked out and gave the small group a smile.

"Lily wants to know why the party is out here?" Philippe said with a grin in his American accent. The group chuckled and made their way into the ward. James was about to follow when Philippe held him back.

"What's up?" James asked Philippe.

"I have to go back." He said with a small smile.

"You should stay, Lily would love it if you did, we all would." James said.

"I wish I could but I can't leave Derek with the bar." Philippe chuckled.

"Well then you'll need to come back again soon." James said.

"Don't worry I'll be back. I've been threatened by Lily." Philippe said causing to James to laugh. "Look Lily's a sister to me and I want the best for her." Philippe said seriously. "I don't know you that well but I do know that she loves you an awful lot. Make her happy." Philippe said. James looked at him then into the ward. Sirius was saying something funny causing everyone to laugh. Lily was sitting up on the bed with Hestia sitting beside her. Remus, Jenny, Frank and Alice were sitting in the chairs around Lily's bed listening to Sirius. Lily then looked in his direction and the pair held eye contact for a few seconds through the window before Lily turned to Hestia who was saying something to her.

"I love Lily, she makes me happy. Every moment I'm with her I want it to last forever and every moment I'm not with her I'm thinking about her. I just want to make her happy." James said as he looked at the ground then at Philippe with a sheepish smile.

"If you were gay I'd take you home with me." Philippe chuckled. "She'll say yes, you know." Philippe said cryptically.

"What?" James said looked at Philippe oddly

"If you ask her she'll say yes." Philippe said before walking away. "See you soon James." James watched Philippe walk away and thought about what he said. _What would she say yes too?_ James thought. He walked into the ward and could only smile at seeing Lily laugh. James stood at the edge of Lily's bed and listened to Sirius and Remus recant a story.

"…Then Remus asks him, 'Since when do you wear dresses?' And that's when James realised why he had a draft coming in." Sirius laughed, causing everyone else to laugh and James to cringe.

"Thanks for reliving that story." James said with a flat smile.

"Oh I got one." Hestia said excitedly. "It was seventh year and…" James blanked out the rest of what Hestia said as he looked at Lily. She was staring at her bedspread and creasing her brow as if willing it to talk to her. Her eyes then went wide and she took a deep intake of air. James then saw the tears roll down her cheeks as she let out a small gasp. Hestia ceased her story as everyone looked at Lily. She had her hand over her mouth as more tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Lily?" Hestia asked. Lily shook her head and took the hand away from her mouth.

"C-could y-you all just p-please leave?" Lily said in a shaky voice.

"Of course." Hestia said as she got of the bed and looked at Remus. Remus shrugged and stood up.

"We'll come back later when you feel better." Remus said as he touched Lily's hand. Everyone else followed him out of the ward except for James, who was still standing at the foot of Lily's bed.

James didn't know what to do. He didn't want to stay but he didn't want to leave Lily either. James didn't know how to handle a woman crying.

"Lily?" James voice croaked. "What's wrong?" He asked as he moved to the side of her.

"So much pain…" Lily trailed off as she continued to stare at her bedspread with tears running down her cheek.

"You're in pain? I'll get the medi-wizard." James said quickly.

"No." Lily said as she looked up at him with glistening eyes. "H-he caused me so much … I thought I was going to d-die." Lily whimpered as a fresh bout of tears flowed down her already tear-stained cheeks. James sat down on the bed and faced her.

"I would've never let him take you away from me." James said he took her hand away from her face and held it. Lily looked up at him but noticed a few of the other patients watching her carefully. James noticed also and pulled out his wand. He cast a spell causing the curtain to draw around Lily's bed. It wasn't much but at least they were a bit more private than before.

"I-I was s-so scared." Lily said as she looked at James.

"I'm sorry." James said as he pulled Lily into a hug.

"Why?" Lily asked into his shoulder.

"I should have told you everything. It's my fault you were there in the first place. Please forgive me?" James begged into Lily's hair. He could feel the tears in his eyes but he willed them back. The last time he cried he was seven and he had never cried since then and it was going to stay that way.

"No." Lily said as she pulled away from James. James's hurt broke. Could she not forgive him? Did she blame him entirely? "No … it's not your fault." Lily said as she touched his cheek. "I went there, please don't blame yourself."

"I can't help it. It was my fault we fought, you went there to get away from me." James said as he bowed his head.

"No, I went there just to talk. I would never want to get away from you." Lily said as she forced him to look at her. She could see the tears in his eyes and knew that he was trying to will them away. Lily pulled him into a hug. "The thought of you kept me alive. I thought about kissing you and holding you. I thought about making love to you. I thought of you." Lily whispered.

"I love you so much." James said as he pulled away and kissed her lips lightly.

"I know and I love you." Lily said as she smiled.

* * *

I am so sorry that took me 2 months to write!!!! I know it's not anything great but I tried!!! I would so do the thank you's but I really don't have time!!!! Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing!!!! I've gotta go and get my hair done!!!! Ahh my formal is tonight!!!!! My date is gonna be here soon_ My date was really cute by the way, he's my best friend and has never met any of my school friends and I left him on the dance floor for 2 seconds and when I cam back her was surronded by a bunch of my girlfriends_!!!!! Ahh I'm gonna get drunk tonight _I never actually got drunk :-( My friend did and made a complete fool of herself and I was left to try and 'babysit' her, my date got really angry at me because of it, he said that I shouldn't be ruining my formal because of her - he was such a sweetie_!!!!!!!!! OMG I NEED TO GET READY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

_Okay since I'm here now I'm gonna do the thank you's cuz I have loads!!!!_

**James and Lily 4eva** - Thank you for reviewing

**Charlotte** - I know I hate reading stories that have really unorginal ideas****

James and Lily 4eva - Thank you for reviewing

Charlotte - I know I hate reading stories that have really unoriginal ideas although my other story are a bit like that don't ask I started writing that two years ago!!!!

MiSs WeStHoFf HeRsElF – Yummy Will Smith naked I really like remembering that!!!!

Hadhafang – I love the story ideas that your always giving me!!!! Do you write any stories??? That's how I actually started writing I hated what people wrote in their stories so I decided I could better and that's how I came up with 'Forever and Beyond' – even though it's complete rubbish!!!!

Samantha Kensington – I love my little Remus Hestia Sirius love triangle cuz it could really go either way!! See how I finally introduced Remus' girlfriend Jenny? It's another obstacle in the road! I'm so having fun with that story line cuz nobody knows what going to happen!!!! Hehehe

Aglochen – there is always a cute guy around when there is an embarrassing situation – it's like a universal law or something. I'm so sorry I never updated earlier I really wanted to but I had a complete block but hopefully there will be a few more chapters before you come back.

GracefulDancer – Hey Iris I was really hoping that the pain would come through. I wanted everyone to feel how Lily was feeling.

Patricia123 – I'm glad you liked it!

Megz – Hey what's the criac (Goss)??? To me there is no board I have given up on it … for now!!!! I will so check out ur story I just gotta find a minute to screw my head back on first lol I think teachers find it funny to see me under pressure!!!! It's like a game of theirs or something!!!!

Missers – Me nuts???? Well yeah I suppose that would be me but I need some reason to visit the loony bin after all!!!! I hear they have cute male doctors!!!! I am so there!!!! I don't like this chapter as much as the rest but I think everyone needed to see James torture himself and also to see what their friends thought of Lily and James' relationship!!! And you so know that I'll have something else come between them to screw everything up, I needed to make things all peachy before that happens – the calm before the really big 'Day After Tomorrow' type storm!!!! ;-)

Tali – Thanks I really like stories about Lily and James out of Hogwarts and I figured so did loads of other people and there are so not enough of them so that's kinda why I started 'Magic Charm' … anyway sorry about that little ramble!!!

Babbling – Thanks for reading! I didn't mean this to happen but there is a completely different style to this story than there was for 'Magic Charm' I wanted this one to be light and funny like MC but it never ended up that way, weird!!!!

Anyway I'm really going now!!!! Oh yeah for those that really wanna know what happened at my formal – you don't!!!! It was a very weird night!!!! To put it simply!!!!

Eimear


	6. Chapter 6

I am so sorry this is very long overdue. But blame the male species because that's what I'm doing! Oh and teachers! They are evil creatures! Anyway enough about that silly stuff on with the story.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing that you find familiar from the Harry Potter books as that is all JK Rowlings creation not mine. The only thing that is mine is the story idea.

Chapter 6

Lily tapped her quill on the table absentmindedly as she looked around the room. There were still a few stragglers, James one of them. Bagnold did not look impressed as she sat with a scowl on her face. She was not a woman to get on the wrong side off and many knew this. Just as Bagnold sighed the door opened and a few people entered, James amongst them.

"Sorry for our lateness, we got held up." James said to Bagnold. Bagnold merely nodded her head. She opened up a file on her desk and addressed the room.

"Now that everyone is here, we can get started." Bagnold said as she clasped her hands together. "We'll start with the Lombard case. It has progressed as hoped and tomorrow will hopefully be the beginning of the court proceedings. Miss Evans has thankfully kept most of the information out of the public eye but it is up to the rest of you to keep such … horrendous details to a minimum." Bagnold said as she looked around the room. "Now onto the next appointment. We have a very important visit from the American minister this afternoon, as many of you know. We need security to be kept at a maximum. There is an extra special threat and each of us knows what that is so we ask for each of you to be on the look out for anything suspicious."

"What time can we expect Mister Harper at?" James asked as he wrote a few notes on the file in front of him.

"His portkey will arrive at half past eleven. Miss Evans and Mr Longbottom I would like you to accompany me when greeting the minister and his associates." Bagnold said as she looked at Frank and Lily who nodded their heads. "The minister will be visiting each department so I hope that everything is spit spot for his arrival. Moody please keep all Aurors under wrap." Bagnold warned.

"Why is he visiting the departments?" Laurie Albert, the Head of the Broom Regulatory Control asked.

"He just wants to see how operations work on this side of the sea." Bagnold said. "He will be here for a week on business also, helping with the Lombard case. Does anybody have any questions?" Bagnold asked as she looked around the room. Nobody had a question much to the relive of half of the room. "Very well meeting adjourned. Lily, Frank if you would meet me at eleven in my office to debrief." Bagnold said before she stood up, as soon as she had stood, as did everyone else.

"I hate these bloody public visits." Frank said angrily as he gathered up his things. "A security nightmare." He added causing Lily to laugh.

"You're not the one that has the mountain of paperwork on it." Lily said with a chuckle. "How's Alice?" Lily asked as she looked at Frank. It had been nearly a month since their encounter with Voldemort and Lily had only just been able to stay alone in her house.

"She's feeling better. Planning the wedding keeps her mind of it." Frank said with a small smile. "How are you?"

"I'm good, the headaches have stopped." Lily said with a nod.

"That's good. You know, you and James should come over for dinner, put this whole thing behind us." Frank offered. Lily thought about his offer. The thought of going back into that house were she had been … it was too much for to handle at that moment.

"Nah Frank it's our turn to host. Why don't you and Alice come to ours this weekend? Lily taught me how to cook pasta." James said excitedly as he butted into the conversation. Lily was relieved to see him and he knew it. Frank thought about this and nodded.

"Yeah that sounds good. Alice and I need to get away from those wedding plans." Franks said with a chuckle.

"Good, Friday it is then." James said with a smile. Frank smiled at the pair before leaving with the rest of the crowd. James turned to Lily and looked at her inquiringly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry." Lily said with a sad chuckle. "I just can't go back into that house." Lily said as the small smile faded.

"I know and you don't have to." James said as he hugged her and kissed the top of her head. "How about dinner tonight? You, and me I'll treat. There's that new place in Hogsmeade that Sirius went and he said it was delicious." James said as he pulled away from her and smiled.

"Would that be the food or the talent with him?" Lily asked with a chuckle.

"He definitely said food this time." James grinned.

"So who was he on a date with this time?" Lily asked curiously as she picked up her briefcase.

"I don't know he wouldn't tell me." James said with a shrug. "Must be another of his flings."

"That boy needs to get a relationship. It's not right how he treats these women." Lily said with a shake of her head.

"Relationships aren't for everyone, Lily, especially Sirius. He doesn't do good in them." James said as they left the meeting room.

"He would have to at least try them." Lily said with a role of her eyes.

"Oh he has, trust me they end up badly. He likes the situation he's in." James said as he nodded to a few people he knew.

"Well one day he's going to go through all the girls and he will be left a bitter lonely old man." Lily said with a chuckle.

"Or he'll just go through them all again." James said with a shrug and a smile. Lily rolled her eyes at him and stopped.

"And do you plan to go through them all again?" Lily asked as she folded her arms and looked at James curiously.

"My path ends here … to the elevator." James said with a chuckle as he pressed the button of the elevator. The doors dinged open and James winked at Lily as he walked in. "See ya later." James said with a smile at Lily's scowl. Lily sighed and made her way to her office.

At twenty-seven minutes past eleven Lily was standing with Frank and Bagnold in the Atrium waiting for their American visitors.

"What's Mister Harper like?" Lily asked curiously as she tried to straighten her robes.

"He's an old codger of a man, who thinks his jokes are hilarious. Just make sure that if it isn't funny still laugh." Bagnold said with a role of her eyes. "His wife is some former Texas teen queen, who is exceedingly dull and annoying." She added. "He will have three men also with him. Mr Danzal, his deputy minister, Mr Finnigan, Cabinet minister and Mr Harvey, his legal advisor. Each as dull as they come. And I have to have dinner with them." Bagnold said with a groan.

"And I moan about having dinner with Sirius." Lily said quietly with a chuckle.

"Three, two, one. Kevin welcome, how was the journey?" Bagnold said with a grin as she walked towards the group of people who had just appeared.

"Millicent it is wonderful to see you again." Kevin Harper was a tall good-looking man for his age. He had greyish hair with watery blue eyes that were hid behind thick-framed glasses. On his left stood a woman who looked around the same age as the Minister. She seemed to be wrinkle free with blue eyes and masses of white hair. "You remember my wife Penny." Kevin introduced.

"Of course." Bagnold said as she kissed the wrinkle free cheek of the Minister wife. "You remember Frank Longbottom, the head of Magical Law Enforcement." Kevin shook Frank's hand. "And this is Lily Evans, she the new Head of Law. Lily this is Kevin Harper." Bagnold introduced. Kevin took Lily's outstretched hand and kissed it before smiling at her.

"It is wonderful to meet you Miss Evans. This is Mr Danzal and Mr Finnigan." Lily smiled at two old boring looking men. "And this is Todd Bernstein." Lily almost did a double take when the minister said this name. She looked up and saw a very good-looking man with golden brown hair and deep blue eyes. She knew what that body was like underneath his dark robes.

"Lily?" Todd asked with a grin.

"Todd, how are you?" Lily asked as Todd pulled her into a hug.

"I'm good, you?" Todd asked as he stepped back from Lily and took her all in. He had missed her so much and did not fully realise until he saw her once again.

"I'm great." Lily said with a smile. And she looked it. She looked radiant and happy and Todd knew that the thing that she had been missing whilst in America was in her life. He knew that that person was in her life.

"I see you two have met." Kevin said with a pointed grin.

"Yes, Lily and I go way back." Todd said with a grin.

"Well shall we get started?" Bagnold offered noticing Lily's slight uneasy stance. As the group began to make it's way towards the elevator Lily noticed Hestia gaping at the group. Lily gave her a pointed look that made Hestia close her mouth and turn away but she still continued to have a shocked look on her face. They went to Bagnolds office where tea had been set up for the visitors. Bagnold had been correct in suggesting that the American Minister told boring jokes as Lily had politely laughed at many of them. Just as Lily thought her soul was being sucked out there was a knock on the door and Caradoc walked in.

"I am very sorry to interrupt but Miss Evans is needed urgently." Caradoc said urgently. Lily looked at Bagnold and she nodded.

"It was wonderful to meet all of you." Lily said with a grin as she stood up. When they were a good bit away from the office Lily sighed heavily. "I could kiss you." Lily said as she loosened her robes.

"I don't think James would be too pleased." Caradoc said with a chuckle as they climbed into the elevator.

"Bagnold underestimated how boring those people are." Lily sighed as she rubbed her head. "So what's the problem?" Lily asked as she looked at Caradoc.

"There has been a development in the Lombard case." Caradoc said gravely.

"That doesn't sound good." Lily said.

"It's not." Caradoc said with a shake of his head.

"You can't beat pub food." Remus said with a grin as Tom sat his food in front of him.

"You said it." Sirius said as he looked at his own food.

"The wasps are less than one hundred points behind the leaders." Peter said as he read the headline from the back of the Daily Prophet. He had just eaten so was not eating along with his friends.

"Oh I booked those tickets for the finals." James through a mouthful of Shepherd's Pie.

"Say it don't spray it." Peter said with a chuckle as he sat down the paper on the table. James rolled his eyes and continued eating.

"You're worse than Lily." James said.

"Ah to be single and not get told of for eating with me mouth full." Sirius said with a grin.

"Aye Aye to that." Remus said with a nod.

"You've been single for less than five minutes." James said to Remus with a chuckle.

"And you don't know what you're missing." Remus said with a grin as he winked at a witch in the corner who had her eye on him. Sirius slapped Remus on the back causing him to almost choke.

"That's what I like to see. Felt like I've been on my own on the pull." Sirius said with a grin.

"And what am I invisible?" Peter asked curiously.

"Pete, you've been in the north for ages. When was the last time you went on the pull with us?" Sirius asked curiously. "It's been since way before James got tied down." Sirius said with a shake of his head.

"I'm not tied down." James said haughtily.

"As good as." Sirius said with a role of his eyes. "It only goes down hill from here you know." Sirius said as he pointed his fork at James. "I mean look at Frank. He's just a shell of his former self. Once he put the ring on Alice's finger it just went down hill. He's destined for a life of cleaning up dirty nappies and being responsible. You don't want that Prongs." Sirius said in a matter of fact tone. James coughed to help remove the pie from his airway and put down his knife and fork. Three pairs of eyes looked at James as he continued to cough. "It's the truth." Sirius said with a nod as he continued to eat.

James sighed as he looked at his friends. This was as good a time as any to tell them. He put his hand in his pocket and produced a small rectangular box and set it in the middle of the table. Three pairs of eyes stared at it as if it held a deadly curse.

"Please tell me their earrings for Lily." Sirius said hopefully as he looked at James. When he looked at his friend he saw a look of bashful happiness. James shook his head.

"I'm gonna ask her." James clarified as he stared at the ring box. Sirius sighed and put his knife and fork down on his plate.

"Didn't you hear anything I just said? Everything goes down hill." Sirius said as he looked at James pleadingly. James looked back at his friend. He didn't understand why his friends were being so downhearted. He wasn't expecting group cheers but he was at least hoping for some words of encouragement. James lifted the ring box and put it back in his pocket.

"I thought you guys would've … I don't know at least have been happy with this." James said with a shrug as he continued eating.

"It's not that James." Remus tried to clarify after a few moments of silence. "We like Lily a lot. But it's just so sudden. You and Lily have only been together a few months." Remus said as he looked at James.

"But I've known for so long that she's right for me." James said with a small smile. "I've been through enough to know that I could lose her very easily and I don't want to take that chance." James added as he looked at Remus.

"Are you only doing this because of what happened to her?" Sirius whispered as he looked at James with narrowed eyes. James sighed and put his knife and fork down.

"What happened to her just put everything into perspective. I want to spend the rest of my life with Lily." James said as he looked at Sirius. "I'm crazy about her. When she's not around I'm thinking about her, I see things and I think of her. Like she hates vinegar." James said as he picked up the glass bottle of vinegar. "She makes the best Shepherd's pie." James said as he pointed to his food. "It's small things she says and does that make me love her. I want to make her my wife because I want to spend the rest of my life just being with her." James said passionately. The three men stared at James as if he was someone they had never met. And in a way they never had. They had never witnessed this side of their friend. They had never heard him talk about somebody so passionately they way he just had about his love for Lily.

"When are you thinking of asking her?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know. I've been carrying this around with me for the past month hoping the right moment will arise." James said with a chuckle.

"You've had the ring for a month and you didn't tell us?" Sirius asked astounded.

"Telling you guys seemed worse than asking Lily." James said sheepishly. "And I guess I was right." James said with a shrug.

"James we're happy for you, it's just a bit of a shock." Peter said as he stared at the table.

"It just seemed like last week that you were out on the pull with us. And well now you're putting all that behind you." Sirius said.

"I've found her, the girl you guys are looking for. I'm not going to be a fool this time and let her slip away again." James said determinedly.

"Tom, more butterbeers." Sirius said as he called to the bartender. Instantly their glasses were filled and Sirius was raising his glass. "I guess we're celebrating then." Sirius said with a sincere smile to James. All four men clinked their glasses before drinking from their glass.

"Kiss my arse!" Edward Bones exclaimed as he looked at Frank. "Did you see the keeper in that last match? He didn't even know how to fly a broom." Bones added.

"They've got a new keeper, I tell ya." Frank said as he took a drink from his mug,

"They have Eddie. I heard that exact same thing." Sirius butted in.

"Who told you that crap?" Bones asked as he chuckled into his cup of tea.

"I heard it first hand from Bagman." Sirius said with a nod.

"You believe the shit he spins you? Do you not remember what he told you about that match between East and West Germany?" Bones said pointedly.

"Fisher backed him up." Frank said knowingly.

"Paul Fisher backed him up?" Bones asked unbelievingly. Frank and Sirius nodded their heads. "You're yanking my chain." Bones said as he shook his head.

"For once they're not. The American minister was overhead saying it to one his people. Paul Fisher cleared it up." James said from his place at the table in the corner. He had taken a back seat in the conversation but couldn't hold back anymore.

"So you're telling me that the Americans actually have a chance in the qualifying match against Australia?" Bones asked. James, Frank and Sirius nodded their heads. "But this is the Aussie's." Bones said as if it were obvious.

"What about the Aussie's?" Amelia asked as she grabbed the teapot from beside Sirius and poured herself a cup of tea. "Oh did you hear about the Americans getting a new keeper?" Amelia asked as she looked at the guys. Bones looked at his sister and shook his head.

"You've got her in on it too." Bones said as he pointed at Sirius before shaking his head and walking out of the break room.

"What's he on about?" Amelia asked as she looked at Sirius. Sirius shrugged and shook his head. James went back to the paper that he was reading as Frank sat down beside him and flicked through a magazine.

"Hey." Sirius said with a grin as he looked at Amelia. Amelia smiled at him.

"Hi." She said before putting the cup of tea to her lips. Sirius looked at James who was caught up in what he was reading. He then turned his back to them and pretended to busy himself with the teapot.

"I had fun the other night." Sirius said quietly as he looked at Amelia from the side of his eye.

"So did I." Amelia said with a small smile as she looked around the break room. There were quite a few people their considering that it was three o'clock in the afternoon.

"We should do it again sometime." Sirius offered as he looked at Amelia.

"Yeah, Id like that." Amelia said with a grin as she looked at Sirius. Just as Sirius was about to say something else Benjamin Fenwick walked in with a stranger.

"This would be our break room." Benjamin said to the stranger. Benjamin was tall with dark hair and glasses. He had been a few years older than James was but they had known each other quite well from their years at Hogwarts.

"I'm dying for a cup of coffee." The visitor said in an American accent causing him to attract some attention. Sirius and Amelia stepped out of the way of the coffee-pot and sat down at the table beside James and Frank. Benjamin walked over to them and sat beside them.

"Did you hear the latest news?" Benjamin asked curiously. "They've got a new keeper." Benjamin whispered as he looked at the visitor suspiciously.

"Thank you." Sirius exclaimed just as Bones walked back into the room.

"I can't believe this. They got a bloody new keeper." Bones said loudly enough for many people to look at him including the American visitor. The American visitor hid a chuckle behind a cough. Bones's eyes widened before sitting down beside his sister at the table.

"Ask him." Frank said to Benjamin as he nodded towards the visitor. Benjamin shook his head as Sirius and James chuckled. Sirius being the loud mouth he was spoke up.

"So is it true?" Sirius asked loudly enough for the American visitor to know that the question was directed to him. He looked at Sirius and paused before speaking.

"Yeah it's true." The visitor said in his American drawl. "The keeper was signed yesterday." The visitor said as he walked towards the small group.

"Guys this is the Ministers legal advisor, Todd Bernstein." Benjamin introduced. James found the name very familiar but couldn't place it. "Todd this is Edward Bones, Amelia Bones, you've met Frank." Frank nodded his head at Todd. "And this is Sirius Black and James Potter." Benjamin finished.

"Nice to meet you." James said courteously with a nod. Todd knew exactly who this was. He had heard the name twice before, the first time during an unfortunate occurrence. He could not forget the name as it had led to the break up with his ex-Fiancée.

"So who is this new star keeper?" Bones asked curiously.

"He would be unknown to many here. But he's an up and coming star." Todd assured.

"You got any tips for a gambling man?" Sirius asked with a chuckle.

"That would be letting too much away." Todd said with a chuckle.

"Tell him nothing." James said with a laugh as he looked at Sirius. "How long is the minister staying?" James asked curiously.

"He'll be visiting the ministry for the next few days but he's going to Devon to visit some friends." Todd said as he sipped his coffee and sat down beside Sirius.

"I suppose you'll be sticking about London then for the game." Sirius said knowingly. Todd nodded.

"Yeah, there's no point flooing all the way home and then back here again. Plus London's not as drab and dreary as everyone says." Todd said as he indicated his head towards the window causing the small group to laugh. It looked as if the sun was shining outside and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

"That's not real." Amelia said with a chuckle. "It's actually grey and raining. A normal day in London." Amelia said with a shrug. "They just make it look like that to help motivate us." Amelia said.

"I thought the sun only shone when Stokesy was happy." James said with a laugh. "He must've got the woman back. Stokesy is our weatherman." James clarified for Todd. "He broke up with his girlfriend a few months ago and well we had tornadoes and hailstones for months. Up until two weeks ago actually." James said with a shrug.

"You'll have to experience the real London before you go." Benjamin said with a grin as he looked at Todd.

"And what's that the tour of the pubs by the drunks?" Amelia asked with a chuckle.

"London at its best." Frank said with a chuckle. "You know I don't think I've had a pub crawl in …" Frank trailed of as he thought about it.

"Since you put the ring on the finger." Sirius muttered as he elbowed James. James rolled his eyes at this. But Todd had caught the little exchange and was very curious about what that had meant.

"Well we should have one tonight. What do ya's think lads?" Benjamin said as he looked around the table.

"Can't." James said as he looked at the paper in front of him.

"I'm disappointed, you're usually all up for a pub crawl." Benjamin said as he looked at James. "But let me guess the little lady's not letting you out tonight." Benjamin said with a wink. James rolled his eyes at this comment. "What about you Todd? You got a little lady at home?" Benjamin asked conversationally. Amelia rolled her eyes at how forward he could be.

"I did but it didn't work out." Todd said with a shrug.

"You need a good English woman." Benjamin said with a chuckle as he winked at Amelia who rolled her eyes at him.

"She was English." Todd said with a slight chuckle. "She actually works here at the ministry." Todd said as he sipped his coffee. That's when James's head sprang up. He knew exactly who Todd Bernstein was now. And just at that precise moment as Merlin's law would have it the very lady walked through the door.

"Ah Todd their you are. I was wondering if we can go through those documents." Lily said as she walked over to the table. That's when Lily noticed the others around the table. James was staring at his paper with a slight stony face. "Oh I see you've met everyone." Lily said as she looked at Todd.

"Yes I have and many I have heard an awful lot about." Todd said as he stood up and looked at James.

"Well I better get back to work." James said as he stood up abruptly causing everyone to look at him.

"We've still got ten minutes." Sirius said as he looked at James.

"Sooner I get the work done, sooner I can get home." James said as he pushed in his chair.

"Hear that Lily." Benjamin said with a wink. There was a slight tension created once Benjamin had spoke. Lily looked awkwardly at James then to Todd.

"Loud and clear." Lily said as she looked at Benjamin.

"It was nice to finally meet you." James said to Todd as he held out his hand.

"Likewise." Todd said as he shook it. James nodded to the rest of the group before leaving the break room. Sirius watched after his friend curiously.

"We better get to those documents." Todd said as he watched Lily watch James walk out of the room.

"Yes of course." Lily said as she looked back at Todd.

"It was nice meeting you all." Todd said with a smile as he left with Lily.

"I wonder who she was." Bones said curiously.

"Who was?" Sirius asked as he drank his luke warm tea.

"The girl he was with that works here." Bones said.

"I know his name from somewhere." Amelia said thoughtfully as she took the paper that James had been reading. Then it came to her like a flash of lightening. "No way!" Amelia said suddenly.

"What?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Lily." Amelia said. The men looked at her expectantly. "Todd Bernstein is Lily's ex-Fiancé. That's who he was talking about." Amelia said.

"That's him?" Sirius asked as he looked at Amelia.

"Do you think James knows?" Frank said as he looked at James's empty seat.

"It must be why he all but ran out of here." Bones said.

Lily looked at her watch and saw that it was ten past six. She was never going to make dinner. She would be lucky if she even made dessert. She sighed heavily as she looked at the work in front of her then at Caradoc and Todd who were sitting in front of her.

"Lily could you pass me that file." Todd asked. As Lily did so she noticed Caradoc look at his watch.

"Caradoc go." Lily said with a sigh. Caradoc looked at her. "I know you've got a hot date tonight. Go, at least somebody will be able to make their date." Lily said with a sigh as she looked back down at the paperwork in front of her.

"Are you sure?" Caradoc asked. Lily nodded and smiled at him. Lily sighed once he left the room and put her head in her hands.

"This doesn't make any sense." Lily said. "There is no plausible reason why he would be there. His alibi doesn't match." Lily said as she looked at Todd who had a small smile as he looked at her. "What?" Lily asked.

"Nothing, it's just it feels like it was yesterday we were studying together in your dorm." Todd said with a shake of his head.

"Yeah well we're a long way from Benocot now." Lily said as she went back to her work. She glanced at her watch and sighed. James was going to go through the roof but she really had to keep working at this case. She grabbed him a fresh sheet of parchment and wrote him a letter.

James

I'm not going to be able to make dinner tonight. I'm really sorry but we really need to work on this case before the trial begins. I promise to make it up to you. I shouldn't be home too late. Maybe we'll get a chance to talk when I get home.

Love You

Lily

Lily stood gave it to her owl before letting it fly out the window. She sighed as she sat back down and saw Todd watching her.

"So you got together with him." Todd said in a matter of fact tone. Lily looked at the parchment on her desk and nodded her head. "Does he know about us?"

"Yeah he knows." Lily said. "He knows everything." Lily said.

"I heard about what happened." Todd said as he stood up and walked over the window. Through the magical windows the sun was setting leaving an orange sky. Lily really didn't want to think about that. "None of this would have happened if you hadn't of left." Todd said as he turned to Lily.

"I couldn't stay in New York." Lily said.

"It would be safer there than it would be here." Todd said as he leaned against Lily's side of the desk. Lily knew what he was getting at. She knew where this was going.

"I'm happy here, Todd. This is my home." Lily said as she looked up at him.

"And is James happy? Does he want to spend the rest of his life with you?" Todd asked angrily. Lily bowed her head. She didn't know the answer to that. She didn't know if James thought about those things because they had never talked about it. She had tried to talk to him hundreds of times about their future but he had always steered her away from that topic.

"Todd, you can't just come back into my life and ask me those types of questions." Lily said as she stood up angrily.

"He doesn't want too does he? He doesn't want to spend the rest of his life with you." Todd said as he looked at Lily. Lily turned her back to him and bowed her head. Of course James did. He loved her, he told her so all the time maybe not as often as she may have liked but he still told her. And so what if they never spoke about their future that didn't mean they didn't have one did it? "Lily can't you see that you have no future here? James doesn't love you, he never has. He just wants to hold you back. What happened to the career woman that I fell in love with? This place has ruined you." Todd said as he turned Lily towards him. "Lily, come back to New York. Your life is there; your friends are there. I want to give us another go, please Lily." Todd said as he put his hands on Lily's face.

Lily stared into his deep blue eyes and all those happy moments they had spent together came flowing back. The picnic in Central Park, his proposal on the Subway, everything came flushing back. So when Todd leaned down and kissed her she didn't pull away until a voice screamed in her ear. She quickly pulled away from Todd and stared at him like he was a crazy person. She touched her lips before slapping him across the face. A horrible smack thudded through the silence of the room. Todd touched his face as a red hand print started to emerge on his face.

"I guess I deserve that." Todd said as he moved his hand away from his face. "I better go." He said as he picked up his briefcase and walked towards the door. He stopped before opening the door.

"I don't regret kissing you Lily. I still love you and I want you back." Todd said before he left the room. Lily watched his retreating form as tears welled up in here eyes. She could not believe that had just happened. Todd had kissed her and for a moment she had kissed him back. She had practically cheated on James.

"Do you mind if I join you?" A familiar voice asked. Remus looked round at the brunette and smiled.

"Not at all." Remus said as he pulled out the barstool beside him. "How's things?" Remus asked politely.

"Good. You? I heard about the break up." Hestia said as Remus ordered her a drink.

"I'm good. Jenny and I were over long before it actually ended." Remus said with a shrug.

"I'm sorry, you guys seemed good together." Hestia said as the bartender set the drink down in front of her.

"You of all people knew we weren't good together." Remus said with a chuckle causing Hestia to blush.

"Yeah but it's the kind of thing you say in these situations." Hestia said as she drank from her glass.

"Thanks." Remus said with a chuckle as he drank his butterbeer.

"Have you talked to James today?" Hestia asked curiously as she looked at Remus.

"Yeah we had lunch together." Remus said

"Did he say anything interesting?" Hestia asked curiously.

"Did he tell you? I can't believe he told you before he told us." Remus said with a chuckle and a shake of his head. "So what do you think about all of this? Sirius thinks he's rushing things, but I don't know." Remus said with a shrug.

"Uh me neither." Hestia said as she looked at Remus curiously. They were obviously talking about two completely different things but she was intrigued.

"I wonder what Lily will say. Well I have a guess." Remus said with a chuckle. "I hope she says yes, just to put James out of his misery. Apparently he's had the ring for a month." Remus said with a shake of his head.

"The ring?" Hestia asked. Remus turned to her.

"Yeah the engagement ring." Remus said causing Hestia's eyes to widen. "Hold on what are you talking about?" Remus asked.

"I was talking about Lily's ex-Fiancé being in town. I was wondering if James knew yet. What are you talking about?" Hestia asked.

"James wanting to ask Lily to marry him. Todd's in town?" Remus asked. The pair stared at each in other in shock.

Lily never got home to late. She had finished as much work as possible in the hope of not having to go home. She had to go home and share a bed with the man she loved after having kissed her ex-fiancé. She was very confused about everything. Todd wanted her back and she didn't know if James loved her. This was not how she had thought she would end her day. Lily sighed as she walked into the living room to see that the fire was still going. She quickly extinguished it before walking into the kitchen. Usually she had hated walking around the house in the dark but right now she didn't give a second thought to it. She grabbed herself a glass of water before walking up the stairs to the room she shared with James.

Lily stood outside the door for a few seconds before finally pushing herself to enter. James was lying in bed seemingly sound asleep. She tiptoed quietly as she set the glass of water down on the bedside cabinet. She got changed quickly before slipping under the covers beside James. As she lay on her back she couldn't fall asleep. Their were to many thoughts going through her mind. Did that kiss with Todd really mean that she had cheated on James? Did James want to spend the rest of his life with her? Did she even have a life in England?

Lily turned on her side so that she was facing James's back. She gently touched his back and could feel his muscles flinch in surprise. She knew he was awake.

"James?" Lily asked hoping that he would turn towards her but he didn't. "I didn't know he was coming." Lily said quietly as she turned to lie on her back. "It shocked me as much as it shocked you." Lily said with a sigh. She looked at James's back, as he made no effort to talk to her. "Please talk to me." Lily whispered. Yet again James made no effort to move or talk. Lily sighed heavily before getting out of bed and putting on her slippers and dressing gown. As the door closed behind her James turned on his back and sighed.

Lily stared into the newly lit fire. James didn't love her and she could feel it. He may have been there in times when she needed someone but he didn't love her. She felt that she was just passing time with him until he found someone worth his time. She didn't want to be second best to anyone. She had never been second best and she wasn't going to start now. This must've been how Todd felt. He had always been second best to James and now she was learning how that felt. The door opened and James walked in; he rubbed his face and looked at Lily curiously.

"Why aren't you in bed?" James asked as he walked over to the fire and tried to warm himself. He was only wearing a pair of boxers making him quite cold.

"Couldn't sleep." Lily said with a shrug. James sighed as he looked at Lily.

"I'm sorry about before. I was just angry that you didn't tell me he was here." James said with a shrug. Lily looked up at him.

"Do you love me?" Lily blurted out. James looked at her oddly.

"Where'd that come from?" James asked.

"Does it matter?" Lily asked as she looked at James.

"Lily what's wrong?" James asked as he sat down beside her.

"Does there need to be a reason to hear that you love me?" Lily asked as she stared into the fire. "I don't think you do." Lily said as she looked at him and tears welled up in her eyes.

"Lily, of course I do." James said as he tried to take Lily's hand but she quickly pulled it away from him.

"You don't. I'm just someone to pass the time with aren't I?" Lily asked as she stood up.

"What's going on?" James asked as he stared at her.

"It's all been lies hasn't it?" Lily said. "You, everything you say to me." Lily said as she paced in front of him.

"Nothing has been lies, Lily." James said as he stood up.

"It has. I'm crazy about you James, yet you can barely tell me that you love me. I stayed here for you. I put my life in danger for you, James." Lily said as tears streamed down her face.

"Lily, where's all this coming from? Of course I love you. You know that, I didn't think I needed to tell you everyday." James said as he stopped her pacing and made her look at him.

"Todd kissed me." Lily blurted out as she looked at James. His expression changed as he looked at Lily, he dropped his hands and turned away from her.

"Did you kiss him back?" James asked. Lily kept quiet as she bowed her head. James turned to look at her. "Did you?" He asked again. Tears welled up in Lily's eyes. James felt everything deflate out of him as he sat down on the couch.

"It all happened so fast." Lily said quietly.

"Did you want to kiss him back?" James asked.

"I love you James. You're the only person I want to kiss. I just wish you felt the same sometimes." Lily said.

"Are we still on this. Lily I do love you. Just because I don't say it everyday doesn't mean I don't feel it here." James said as he touched his chest.

"Todd wants me to go back with him." Lily said quietly.

"Do you want to go?" James asked.

"Do I have a reason to stay?" Lily asked as she looked at James.

"Of course you have a reason to stay. Me, I want you to stay." James said as he stood up.

"We don't have a future James, because you can't see one." Lily said with a shake of her head.

"Of course I see one, Lily. I wouldn't be with you if I didn't." James said as he took her hand.

"I need time to think." Lily said as she looked at the ground. James dropped her hand.

"If you have to think about who you want to be with then you obviously don't love me." James said as he turned away form Lily.

"I can't stay here James. I have to go I'm sorry." Lily said. She walked towards him and kissed his back lightly before disapparating. James turned and sighed at the spot that Lily had just stood. Why hadn't he asked her then? Why didn't he tell her that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her? Why didn't he say it?

"Potter!" A voice yelled. James looked towards the fire and saw Moody's head staring at him. "There's been trouble, you're needed. Let's go! And put some bloody clothes on." James watched Moody's head disappear before going upstairs to get changed. James felt like a walking zombie. Lily was gone and he didn't know if she would ever come back.

* * *

That was strange. It wasn't really supposed to turn out like that well yet anyway. I think I should say thank you to everyone now! 

MissBlueAngel My formal was a complete disaster on hindsight. I personally think I took the wrong guy but at the time I thought he was right. I had a back up guy and I wish I had taken him because he said more nice things about how I looked than my actual date! I haven't actually spoke to my date since my formal strangely.

GracefulDancer Do ya like that chapter? No fluffiness at all was there.

Weird and Wonderful Sorry this took forever

Samantha Kensington A wee bit of Remus and Hestia just for you. I want a James as well I've been looking I really have but I seem to be finding a lot of Sirius's! Yeah guys who only want one thing lol

Charlotte Have you got your dress yet? I was so excited when I got mine. In fact I still love looking at it even after I wore it lol

CaptainOats+PrincessSparkle Thanks for reviewing

JustDreem Thanks for reviewing

Sunlitmist I brought Todd into the picture and I kinda spun things up with that didn't I.

Siriusforeva Thanks for reviewing

Alcapacien James going psycho that would have been a funny plot twist. But instead I made him a jealous fool lol

Missers where ya ready for that? Totally mixed things up and it was so fun to write it lol Yummy male doctors have you been watchin ER lately of yummy Shane West. He is so my Sirius!

Jessie xxx Thanks for reviewing

Patricia123 My story isn't on the boards anymore I just got so sick of them!

Angel911 Oh that Remus/Hestia/Sirius love triangle is far from over even if there is something going on with Sirius and Amelia! I plan to twist things up there as well.

ManiacMegz Formal (Prom) sucked! That's pretty much how it goes!

Agloechen How did it go with that guy?

ByeByeBirdie James so should have popped the question and even he realises it now hehehehe

Lily-900121 Thanks for reviewing

Lils10 Thanks for reviewing

Pottervirgo Thanks for reviewing

I better go I have a mountain of coursework and I spent the whole day writing this! Please review!

Eimear


	7. Chapter 7

Okay please don't hate me. I know this has taken forever to come out and I'm really sorry. I had like a ¼ of this done and then well life happened. Okay so first there was mountains of coursework to finish and I'm glad I did because I got A's in them! Then there was my 18th birthday. I went out and got completely drunk, my friends fought with their boyfriends, fought with me, then my friends fought with each other. Whilst I wasn't fighting I was dancin and flirtin – nothing new there. Then unfortunately a friend took his life. It was hard to get through. But I had the help of this guy who I fell for. Big Time! That just was a big problem in itself. Then to top it all off I had exams that finished of my high school years. And then in celebration of ending high school I took an Asthma attack! Bloody weather! So yeah pretty much life happened! So I know that's not much of an excuse. I spent most weekends drowning my sorrows and finding new guys to break my hearts! All in the name of fun! Lol Anyway on with the story it's just been 2 months and 3 weeks late. Wow I'm actually quite proud of that!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing that you find familiar from the Harry Potter books as that is all JK Rowlings creation not mine. The only thing that is mine is the story idea.

**Chapter 7**

James arrived at the ministry fully dressed a few minutes later. When he reached his department he was met with about twenty other people, Sirius amongst them.

"What's going on?" James asked Sirius curiously.

"Dunno." Sirius said tiredly. "Did he wake you up as well?" Sirius asked, as he looked James up and down.

"I was already up." James said as he rubbed his face and sat down on the edge of one of the desks.

"Bet Lily enjoyed the wake up call." Sirius said with a smirk.

"Uh, she wasn't there." James said as he fidgeted with his hands and looked around the room.

"Where is she?" Sirius asked curiously. James shrugged as Moody entered.

"Attention!" He shouted causing everyone to look at him. "Everyone's here, good!" Moody said as his magical eye searched the room. "There's trouble in Northern Ireland. Enough evidence has been gathered to suggest that Deatheaters have got involved with the Muggle problem there. It seems that they are using mind control and the forbidden curses to cause havoc amongst the Muggles. There is also reason to suggest that they could be planning an attack on the Muggle British PM." Moody said as he looked around the room. A mutter broke out as Moody went silent.

"That's unbelievable, why would they get involved in Muggle affairs?" Edward Bones asked.

"There have been problems in Northern Ireland for many years now, it's an easy target." Moody said.

"Ah I see you've already begun." Bagnold said as she entered followed by the American Minister and Todd. "Please continue." Moody looked darkly at the minister before continuing.

"There will be five groups of four and it will be the usual groups. Potter, King, Tiernay and Gregory are group leaders alongside me. We'll be leaving in an hour. If you'll make your way to the weapon station and then meet back here in 55 minutes." Moody said with a nod. "Group leaders follow me." Moody added before walking into an office of to the side. James did so along with the rest of the group leaders, Bagnold, the American Minister and Todd. James stood as far away from Todd as he possibly he could. He feared that if he got to close he might punch the lights out of him. Moody stood in front of an in-depth map of Belfast. James had been to Belfast once before and recognised a few famous places.

"Never been to Belfast." Tiernay muttered to James, causing James to chuckle. Tiernay was a tall man and was quite a few years older than James. In fact all of the group leaders were older than James was. He had quickly climbed the ranks to show his abilities.

"Potter, your group will be going in to this area." Moody said as he pointed towards the map. James didn't recognise the area. It was a large square that seemed to be about 2 miles long and wide. Once Moody finished pointing out the rest of the areas he spoke once again. "You'll be searching every square inch for any deatheater activity and once you do you will report back to HQ. That will be where the portkey will take us. The co-ordinates will be given to you once we arrive there." Moody said.

"What happens once we find deatheater activity and report back?" Tiernay asked.

"The group will be assembled and we'll move in." Moody said.

"How long is the mission thought to take?" James asked as he stood with his arms crossed. He had tried to keep his mind on what Moody was saying but he wanted to do nothing but jump across the room and kill Todd.

"It depends on how long it takes to find the deatheaters. They're currently not aware that we have knowledge of them. But analysts think it should take a week at the most." Moody said.

"Can't we just do a spell on the map to see all wand activity?" King asked, he was a regal looking man with dark brown hair that accentuated his features.

"Even with that it wouldn't narrow it down. There are wizarding families all over Belfast." Moody said. "Any more questions?" The group leaders shook their heads before they were dismissed. As James walked down the corridor towards the weapons station he could hear someone calling his name. He turned to see Todd a few feet behind him. James sighed angrily and clenched his fist.

"I think we need to talk." Todd said as he walked towards James. James was thankful that the rest of the group leaders had walked on.

"We have nothing to talk about." James said stonily.

"I'm guessing Lily told you then." Todd said as he bowed his head. "I'm sorry it had to happen this way." Todd said as he looked back at James. "She really does belong in America, there is nothing for her here. I think you need to let go of her." Todd said, as he looked James in the eye. James looked at Todd and knew that he could take the little twat on in a fight. But he wasn't going to stoop to his level. He noticed the red mark on Todd's cheek that looked like a hand print and smirked.

"Nice shiner." James said before turning away and leaving Todd to watch him leave.

* * *

Lily looked around the flat. The corner light was still on so she figured that Hestia was still awake. 

"Hestia? Hestia, are you awake?" Lily called as she wrapped her dressing gown tighter around her. She didn't think to bring some extra clothes with her. Lily waited a few minutes and just as she was about to disapparate Hestia came out of her room wrapping her dressing gown around her.

"Lily what's wrong?" Hestia asked. She seemed wide-awake and a little flushed.

"I left, Hes. I can't believe I just left." Lily said as she sat down on the couch and put her head in her hands.

"Left? Left what?" Hestia asked as she sat down beside her friend.

"Todd's here, in the city and at the ministry." Lily said as she looked up at her friend. Hestia sighed and rubbed Lily's back.

"I know I saw him. How are you coping?" Hestia asked soothingly.

"Badly!" Lily said as she held back tears. "I accused James of not loving me and then I told him Todd kissed me and then I left, I just left." Lily said as she put her head back in her hands and cried.

"Wow hold up there. Todd kissed you?" Hestia asked. Lily nodded into her hands.

"Yeah, we were standing there and everything came flooding back. Then he kissed me but I pushed him away and slapped him. I should have told James that bit." Lily mumbled into her hands. "Todd wants me back, and I told James this." Lily said as she looked at Hestia.

"Then what did you do?" Hestia asked frantically.

"I told him I needed time to think and he said that if I needed time then I obviously didn't love him. Then I left." Lily said. She put a hand over her mouth and gasped. "I left! I can't believe I just left him like that. Of course I love him, Hes!" Lily said as more tears streamed down her face.

"Okay let me get this straight. Todd kissed you and you pushed him away and he told you that he wanted you back then you told James all of this and then left. Is that right?" Hestia asked.

"I also accused James of not loving me and not wanting to have a future with me." Lily sobbed. Hestia pulled her into a hug.

"Oh Lily. Silly silly Lily." Hestia said as she patted Lily's back.

"I'm such an idiot aren't I?" Lily said as she pulled away from Hestia. Hestia nodded sympathetically. "Hestia how can I make this better?" Lily sobbed.

"Do you love James?" Hestia asked Lily nodded enthusiastically. "If he asked you to marry him what would you say?" There was a sound like a cough coming from Hestia's bedroom. Lily turned to look at the door but Hestia moved her head back. "What would you say?" Hestia asked imploringly with her hands still on Lily's cheeks.

"Yes, without a doubt." Lily said.

"Do you want to go back with Todd?" Hestia asked.

"No, I don't love him. I love James." Lily said.

"And James loves you. An awful lot. I know he doesn't say it all the time the way Todd did but that's not James. He's not as open as Todd is. But James does love you." Hestia reassured.

"What am I gonna do? I just screwed everything up!" Lily sobbed again.

"You need to go home Lily and talk to James." Hestia said. Lily nodded and stood up and wiped away the tears.

"I'm sorry I interrupted." Lily said with a small smile. Hestia's eyes widened as Lily disapparated. The door to Hestia's room opened and the figure in the door looked at Hestia.

"That was close." Hestia said as she shook her head.

"Do you think she knew I was here?" Remus asked.

"She knew someone was but I don't think she knew it was you." Hestia said as she stood up and walked over to Remus. "Did you hear all of that?" Hestia asked as she wrapped her arms around Remus's waist. Remus rubbed her back in return.

"Yeah especially about the proposal bit. I thought you were going to say something." Remus said with a chuckle.

"And ruin the surprise for her? I wouldn't do that." Hestia laughed. Remus looked at her and grinned.

"Let's go back to bed." He said deviously as he pulled her inside the room.

* * *

When Lily apparated back to the house the fire had been put out and the lights turned off. She figured James had gone back to bed. When she got to their bedroom she opened the door slowly so that she didn't wake James if he was sleeping. Though she couldn't believe that he could sleep during a time like this. When she walked into the room though he wasn't there. She searched in the bathroom and he wasn't there either. 

"James?" She called as she stepped out into the hallway. "James?" But there was no answer. She walked back into the bedroom and over to the wardrobe and saw that a set of his auror robes was gone. She sat down on the bed and stared at the wardrobe. Where would he have gone?

The next day Lily dragged herself into work. She had barely got any sleep the night before. It had been the first time that she had ever stayed in the house on her own and she did not like it one bit. She kept having strange dreams of deatheaters capturing her whilst she slept. When she arrived in her office there was a memo on her desk from Bagnold requesting a meeting urgently. Lily wondered what it could possibly be about as she made her way up to Bagnold's office. She purposefully took a route past Auror HQ in the hope to see James. But he wasn't there; in fact it wasn't as busy as it usually was. After a while Lily knocked on Bagnold's door and entered once she had been called forth. When she entered she saw the American Minister, Mr Danzal, his deputy minister, Mr Finnigan, Cabinet minister and Todd talking avidly amongst them. They all looked up though at Lily.

"Ah Lily, bright and early I see." Bagnold said with a grin as she gestured Lily in and to the seat in front of her. As Lily sat down she noticed that Todd was watching her but she refused to look at him. "I'm sure you're wondering what this is all about. A mission began early this morning. Moody and a group of our Aurors have been sent to Northern Ireland on a top secret mission." Bagnold said. Lily nodded understandingly. "We need you to gather a team to deal with the legislation of the mission. This file will brief you with all the details. The correct security procedures will need to be put into place." Bagnold said. Lily nodded her head in understanding as she took the magnolia folder.

"I'll get right to work with this. Is that everything?" Lily asked. Bagnold nodded her head as Lily stood up. Lily left the room without even a look towards Todd. As she walked down the corridor she heard someone call her name. She knew who had called and stopped in her tracks. She slowly turned around to face Todd.

"Lily, we need to talk." Todd said.

"We have nothing to talk about." Lily said with a stony expression.

"We have things to discuss about what I said to you last night." Todd whispered as someone walked past them.

"Like I said we have nothing to talk about. What you said last night means nothing to me. I love James and I'm staying here in England with James. This is my home and always has been. New York was never home and never will be. Now if you don't mind I have work to do." Lily said as she turned on her heel and walked away. She reached her office a few minutes later; as she closed her door she heaved a deep sigh and leaned against the door.

Lily had always known she was never in love with Todd. It had always been James but she didn't know if James had always loved her. James never spoke much about his feelings he was never that type of person. Well actually he had constantly asked her out. But that had just been due to a teenage crush. They were no longer teenagers.

Lily sat the folder on her desk and sat down in her chair. She felt tired but couldn't sleep. Her brain would not allow her too. There was a knock on the door and Lily looked up to see Caradoc enter.

"I was thinking about the case and I think I've found something useful. Wow you don't look so good, have you been up all night?" Caradoc asked as he took a minute to look at Lily.

"Umm yeah." Lily said as she walked over to her kettle.

"Is everything okay?" Caradoc asked curiously.

"Yeah, everything is fine. We'll need to put the case aside for a few days give it to Andy and Derek. Take them of the Sanders case for a few days it's not as important as this." Lily said as she turned to Caradoc with a cup of tea in her hand. "The Aurors have been sent to Northern Ireland on a secret mission and Bagnold as asked that I set up a team to deal with the legislation." Lily said as she sat down in her chair. "I need only the best working on this." Lily said.

"Of course." Caradoc said with a nod. "I'll brief Andy and Derek on this case and you can set about gathering your team." Caradoc said.

"No Lindsay can brief them she is well aware of the case. I'll need you here." Lily said as she pressed her wand to a button the desk." Jennifer can you come in here please." A few seconds later a woman in her late forties came into the room. She had her dark brown hair in a French braid and floral patterned robes on. "Jennifer can you tell John Andrews, Isabella Michael's, Lindsay Perry and Alex Mitchell that I would like to speak with them at once, it is an urgent matter. That is all thank you Jennifer." Lily said with a small smile. "There's the team created and Derek and Andy dealt with. Now we just need to get down to work." Lily said as she opened the magnolia folder. Caradoc chuckled as he sat down on a seat in front of Lily's desk. Lily looked up at him. "What?" Lily asked.

"For someone who is tired you can certainly get straight into work." Caradoc said. Lily shrugged.

"Need to take my mind of things somehow." Lily said quietly. Just then the door opened and the requested people walked in.

* * *

Hestia grinned as it hit the spot. She was having fun and she was on a role. 

"Hey that looks fun can I join in." A voice asked behind Hestia. Hestia smiled at Amelia and nodded her head.

"Sure just make sure you bend your knees, it helps to give a better bounce." Hestia said as she moved from her position. "That's good." Hestia said as it hit the spot once again. "Gives you a good tingling sensation doesn't it." Hestia said with a grin. Amelia chuckled as she moved away from where she was. Hestia picked up her towel and rubbed her face.

"Target practice is usually so boring." Amelia said as she looked at the red dot on the wall in front of her.

"You have to make your own fun with it." Hestia said with a grin. "Hey I saw you at Jackie D's restaurant last week." Hestia said with a grin. "I was gonna come over and say hi but I didn't want to ruin your date with Sirius." Hestia said with a mischievous grin causing Amelia to look at her anxiously.

"Umm please don't say-"

"Hey it's got nothing to do with me." Hestia said raising her hands. "I'm not gonna say a word." Hestia added with a smile.

"Thanks. It's just I don't know where this is going yet with Sirius and I don't really want anyone to know just yet. Plus I'm not sure how people would react. First I'm dating James then his best friend. It just seems strange." Amelia said with shrug.

"You shouldn't care about what other people think." Hestia said as she lifted her bottle of water and the pair walked towards the doors.

"It's not just what other people think. I mean I really like Sirius and from what I can tell I think he likes me." Amelia said as they walked out the doors and towards the changing rooms.

"So what's holding you guys back?" Hestia asked curiously as they walked into the changing rooms.

"I think Sirius is worried about what James is gonna say." Amelia said as she sat down on a bench situated between the lockers.

"What's it got to do with James?" Hestia asked as she opened one of the lockers and put her towel inside and pulled a cleaner one out.

"Remember when we were in 4th year and Sirius and James had that huge fight?" Amelia asked.

"Oh yeah, James had just broken up with Laura Adams and two weeks later Sirius was caught snogging her in a broom closet" Hestia said with a chuckle. She quickly stopped as she realised the morale of the story. "Oh." Hestia said as she looked at Amelia.

"Yeah, I remember James hated her and had only went out with her for like a day or something but he always expressed the point that it was one of his ex's and friends don't go out with their friends ex-girlfriends." Amelia said.

"They were like fourteen or fifteen then. That was like years ago." Hestia reasoned as Amelia stood up and went to her locker.

"I know but the guys must still take it pretty seriously if Sirius is worried about it." Amelia said as she took her work clothes out of her locker. It then clicked on Hestia.

"Do you think that counts for one night stands?" Hestia asked curiously as Amelia walked towards the showers.

"It probably would why?" Amelia asked as she turned to Hestia.

"No reason just curious. Do you think that rule applies to all guys?" Hestia asked again.

"Dunno. Some guys don't really care." Amelia said as she walked on through to the showers.

Hestia sat down on the bench as she thought about what Amelia had said. Her one night stand with Sirius had been just that a one night stand. Nothing ever came of it and both knew nothing ever would. But could Hestia be considered as an ex? She hadn't been Sirius's ex-girlfriend but she had been an ex-fling. And it wasn't like Hestia and Remus were going to date that had also been a one night stand that had been coming for a long time. Hestia sighed and put her head into her hands. People would probably think of her as a slut if they knew she went from one friend to another. At least Amelia was dating them and not just jumping into bed with them. But there had just been so much sexual tension between Remus and Hestia the previous night and there had been for a long time even whilst he had been with his girlfriend. There had also been an excessive amount of firewhiskey.

It had been similar with Sirius, a lot of sexual tension and instead of their being firewhiskey there was adrenaline about the upcoming battle. Remus had just come out of a long relationship and he was on the rebound and so was she – okay so it was a two-year rebound from the jackass! But Hestia still wasn't ready to get into another relationship that was so obviously going to end in heartbreak. So why did it worry her that Sirius would not agree with what she had done with Remus the previous night? It wasn't like he was pining over Hestia. He had fully moved on with Amelia. And that didn't bother Hestia in the slightest. Why would it? She never had feelings for Sirius and Sirius never had feelings for her. It was only a fling. It wasn't like he took her out on dates and tried to see what would come of it that was because he never had feelings for her.

Hestia sighed heavily as her brain worked over time. What was she so worried about? She wasn't going to have a relationship with either of the Marauders.

"Hey Hes, I just thought of something." Amelia said as she came back in her work clothes and with a towel around her hair. "Remember when we were in 6th year and me, you and Lily stayed up slagging of the marauders. Remember we made a pact to never fall for their charms." Amelia said with a laugh and a shake of her head. "You're the only one that's stuck to it, you had the right idea." Amelia smiled as she tugged the towel away from her hair and pointed her wand to it and dried it before putting it into a neat bun. "I better head on. Do you know what we should do though? We should get all the girls together and go out some time. We haven't all been together since Lily's welcome home party." Amelia said with a grin.

"We should definitely do that." Hestia said with a smile.

"See you later then." Amelia said with a smile as she walked out of the changing rooms. Hestia groaned before dragging herself into the showers.

* * *

Lily sighed as she read through the mission report, just as she had finished it a new one arrived in front of her. She sighed once again as she began to read this one. From what she could tell so far the groups had not made any progress. Nothing else was really going in. She kept thinking about James. She thought maybe he would have popped by this morning asking her too talk but he hadn't appeared. Every time someone opened the door Lily looked up expectantly. The team had moved to the conference room for more space to work instead of being crammed into one office. 

Lily thought that maybe James would have gone to Sirius's. But if he had Sirius would have been at her door begging her to go talk to him so he could have his apartment to himself again. But not even Sirius had appeared. Maybe James went to Peter's or Remus's. But she knew James wouldn't have gone to Peter's because he still lived with his mother and she knew that he didn't go to Remus's because Remus wasn't at home the night before. She had seen his jacket at Hestia's and suspected he was the one hidden in her bedroom. Maybe James went to his parents but she didn't really believe that either because she knew that James would not have wanted to deal with his mother's constant questions.

She didn't understand were he could be. All that was missing was his Ministry robes and his wand. Lily sighed as she re-read the mission report for group two. She just didn't understand where he could be.

"Lily have you finished with the twelve o'clock mission report for group four?" Isabella asked. Lily looked at her then realised what she had said.

"Yeah that's the twelve o'clock pile there." Lily said as she pointed to a stack of parchment before returning to what she was reading. Isabella looked at Caradoc curiously who just shrugged his shoulders.

Where was James? She wanted to just tell him that last night was just her insecurities taking over her and her mood swings playing havoc as they do. Lily stood up and decided that she needed a break. Everyone looked at her curiously.

"You guys carry on I'll be back in a minute." Lily said as she left the room.

"Do you think she's okay?" Isabella asked once the door closed behind Lily. "She seems tired and unfocused." Isabella said worriedly.

"I think this might be why." Caradoc said as he passed a sheet of paper to Isabella.

"Oh dear." Isabella said with a shake of her head causing a few loose strands of her blonde hair to cover her face. "James Potter is the group leader of group two."

"She shouldn't be heading this." Alex said. "She is emotionally involved." Alex said as he looked at his co-workers.

"Bagnold gave Lily the case. Lily's the right person to take this on. Bagnold would not have given it to her otherwise." Caradoc reassured. "Lily is just tired because she spent all night on the Lombard case."

"Maybe somebody should go make sure she's all right." Isabella said as she looked pointedly at Caradoc.

"Why me? You're a woman you can deal with these things better." Caradoc defended.

"You know her better than I do." Isabella defiantly.

"Fine." Caradoc said with a shake of his head as he stood up and walked out of the room.

"Any messages?" Lily asked her secretary Jennifer.

"You have four messages. One from a Mrs Dursley is concerning a visit to see Mrs Evans. One from Philippe asking for you to call him it's urgent. And two from Hestia, one concerning lunch and another saying that she too needs to talk to you urgently." Jennifer said.

"Oh." Lily said downhearted. "Well did anyone come by?" She asked hopefully.

"Ah yes a young man." Lily brightened at this. "That American lad with the American minister wished to talk to you but I told him you were in an important conference." Lily rolled her eyes, didn't he get the bloody hint.

"Thank you Jennifer. If he comes back again tell him that he can take his words and shove them up his arse." Lily said before walking into her office. She leaned against the door as she had done previously that day. Why hadn't James come by or at least one of the other Marauders? They knew that Lily would be worried sick wouldn't they? Of course they knew. Maybe he wasn't with any of the Marauders. Maybe he was at work right now and had stayed at the Leaky Cauldron. Lily walked out of her office and towards the elevator. As she made her way to the Auror Headquarters her mind travelled back to the work she was supposed to be doing. She was not being very professional looking for her boyfriend if that's what he still was. Lily entered the headquarters a few minutes later. She looked about but could not see his ruffled hair amongst the many people in the room. Lily left the room quietly just as she had entered.

Why wouldn't he have been at work? Then it hit her. Maybe he was at work just not at the headquarters. Maybe … maybe he was part of the mission. Oh why did she not think of this earlier? Of course he was part of the mission. This was James, he was part of every mission that the Aurors took part in. Lily walked back towards the elevator and back to her department. She found Caradoc talking with Jennifer.

"Is there a problem?" Lily asked worriedly.

"Lily there you are. Can I talk to you in your office please?" Caradoc asked. Lily nodded worriedly before leading him in to her office.

"What's the problem?" Lily asked as she closed the door behind him.

"Are you sure you're up to this?" Caradoc asked quizzically.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Lily asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Lily don't try to fool me. I know you're worried about James being part of this mission." Caradoc said sensitively.

"So he is part of it then." Lily said with a sigh as she walked towards the window and looked out at the artificial scenery.

"You didn't know?" Caradoc asked curiously. Lily shook her head.

"He didn't tell me where he went." Lily said sadly.

"Lily I'm sorry I thought…" Caradoc began.

"No, I'm fine. We need to get back to work." Lily said as she left her office. Caradoc trailing behind her. Lily entered the conference room and sat down with an unemotional look. Everyone was looking at her expectantly as Caradoc sat down also. Lily looked at her watch and saw that was coming up to twenty past one. "We'll break for lunch at two o'clock is that okay with everyone?" Lily asked. Everyone nodded before going back to his or her work. "Caradoc can I see-" Caradoc was already handing Lily James's profile.

Lily read through James's details. It told of his date of birth, which was three months away at the end of August. His height, eye colour, hair colour, fitness, how long he had worked at the ministry, his O.W.L.S, his N.E.W.T.S, everything that Lily could tell you by heart. Then there was something unexpected at the bottom of the parchment. It was James's emergency contact. He had put Lily's name beside it. It may have seemed insignificant to other people but to Lily it was something. It was something especially after what Lily had said to James last night. She had accused him of wanting a future with her. When he got home from this mission she was going make a huge apology to him. She was going to do anything to make him forgive her. A small smile came to her face. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with James. She would do anything to make sure he was in her life. She wasn't going to lose him.

* * *

It was after lunch when Lily noticed the irregularity in the paper work. Something wasn't right. Things weren't adding up correctly. During her time in the Phoenix she had been able to pick out these types of small pieces of information that led to errors. And this piece of information was about to lead to a very big error. 

"Who analysed these papers?" Lily asked John.

"The analysts in Special Ops I think. Why what's wrong?" John asked.

"The incident at Frank and Alice's, what date was it and who was said to be there." Lily asked with her eyes closed. She knew what date it had been and who was involved but the papers in front of her were stating otherwise.

"It was the evening of April 2nd. Deatheaters were said to be involved." Caradoc said as he looked at Lily quizzically.

"Then how could Voldemort and deatheaters be spotted in Belfast at 7:38pm? I kind of thought they were busy during this time." Lily said agitatedly as she stood. "This doesn't match. These witness reports don't add up. One person is saying that Voldemort was spotted in Liverpool and then this one is saying that at the exact same time he was in Northern Ireland." Lily said as she paced the room. "I need to speak with the analyst who dealt with this. Caradoc can you find that out and set up a meeting." Caradoc nodded and left the room. "Isabella and John can you cross reference these witness reports with witness reports made in the last two months of sightings of Voldemort or deatheaters." Isabella and John nodded their heads. "Alex continue going through the mission reports of every hour. I need to speak with Bagnold." Lily said as she walked out of the room.

Lily stopped at Bagnold's receptionist and demanded to talk with the minister.

"I'm sorry Miss Evans but Minister Bagnold is in a very important meeting with Minister Harper." The receptionist said kindly.

"Tell her this is urgent." Lily demanded. The receptionist nodded her head and pressed a button on her desk with her wand.

"Mam I know you asked not to be disturbed but Miss Evans has urgent news … of course mam." The receptionist ended the conversation and turned to Lily. "She will see you, go on in." Lily thanked the receptionist then made her way into the office.

"What is the problem Lily?" Bagnold asked worriedly.

"Who ordered them to go on this mission?" Lily asked not caring if she sounded rude.

"Lily-" Bagnold began.

"Who ordered the Aurors to go to Northern Ireland?" Lily asked again.

"I did of course. What is the problem?" Bagnold asked worriedly.

"The Deatheaters are not in Northern Ireland." Lily said angrily. "You have been advised wrong. The analysts of the witness reports has not crossed referenced them with other witness reports, which are an awful lot more correct."

"I don't understand." Bagnold said as she looked at Lily. Minister Harper also looked at Lily curiously.

"Voldemort and his deatheaters were supposed to be seen on the evening of April 2nd in Belfast. Unless I imagined what happened that evening, Voldemort was very much not in Belfast. And I'm sure that it isn't the first witness report that has been fabricated. I have my team working on this, but I'm pretty sure that there is no deatheater activity in Northern Ireland." Lily said as she shook her head and sighed.

"I don't understand how this could have happened." Bagnold said with a shake of her head. Just then the door opened and Caradoc came into the room rather breathlessly.

"I'm sorry to disturb you but Lily the analyst she's gone." Caradoc said quickly.

"What do you mean she's gone? Gone where?" Lily asked anxiously.

"She's left the ministry. All her files are gone, there is nothing in her office." Caradoc said urgently.

"It's been planned. Shit why didn't we see this." Lily said angrily as she covered her mouth with her hand. "You need to call the Aurors back, the Deatheaters are planning something. They wanted the Aurors gone for a reason." Lily said as she rubbed her head with the hand that had covered her mouth.

"Sir, you have an owl from the Minister of Italy." One of the American minister's advisors said as he walked into the room. Lily then looked at the American Minister.

"Of course it's you." Lily said causing the American Minister to look at her oddly. "They're after you." Lily said just as there was a loud shrieking sound throughout the room. "They're here." Lily said, as there was panic outside in the corridor.

Bagnold instantly grabbed a hold of a piece of parchment and wrote furiously on it before tying it to owl that was perched beside her. She opened the window allowing it to fly out the window. She then grabbed another piece of parchment and wrote furiously on it before pressing a button on her desk with her wand causing the piece of parchment to disappear.

"We need to get you both out of here." Lily said hurriedly as she walked to the door and looked out. All she could see was many people running in different directions. They knew what the shrieking implied.

"The only way out is through the Atrium." Caradoc said hurriedly.

"Well then we'll need to hide them until help arrives." Lily said. "We'll not be able to get to the elevators, there are to many people."

"What's going on?" Todd asked with his hands over his ears trying to drown out the sound of the shrieking.

"Deatheaters are within the ministry." Lily said urgently. "The only way out is through the Atrium. Nobody can apparate or disapparate from any other department. And I'm guessing that's were they are. We'll need to hide you both somewhere."

"The records room. That's got the most security within the ministry." Caradoc said.

"That would work. We just need to get you there." Lily said as she walked towards the door once again. "Let's go we can take the stairs." Lily said as she made her way towards a door at the end of the corridor. Bagnold followed Lily and the American minister and his advisors also followed with Caradoc and Todd taking up the rear of the group. There were many people running up and down the stairs trying to find the best places of security. Many people ran past the group bumping into them as they went along.

"Don't these people have any respect?" Todd asked angrily as they scrambled down the stairs.

"They're in a blind panic. Hold on till they get out of your way so you can be safe." Caradoc spat angrily. Lily paid no heed to the bickering behind her as she noticed a masked figure many floors below her. She pressed herself against the wall so that she wouldn't be seen and the rest of the group followed her.

"This way." Lily said as she pointed towards a door beside her. They group nodded and followed Lilt through the door. They found themselves in Level three were many people were still running around. The door shut loudly behind. "They would have heard that." Lily said anxiously. Lily looked around her and saw that there was no where on this level that would be the best place to hide. It had Magic reversal squads and accident and catastrophes department but nothing was going to be of help it seemed.

"We need to get into one of the offices. We're better in groups." Caradoc said as he looked down the corridor.

"What about a portkey?" Minister Harper asked.

"A portkey won't get you out of here ain't that right Bagnold?" A voice said from behind them. The group turned around to see a host deatheaters standing in the doorway. "Look at this, cornered like rats." The person spat once again.

"Where is security?" Todd spat.

"Get down!" Lily quickly shouted as she saw Ministry Aurors behind the deatheaters. Lily took this time to throw a curse at the deatheaters as she scrambled against the wall. Caradoc had had the same idea, but his hex had actually hit a deatheater. Lily straightened up as a battle ensued amongst the deatheaters and the Aurors. Lily grabbed a hold of Bagnold's arm and helped her up also. She quickly dragged the woman towards one of the offices as the men followed. Todd closed the door behind them as Lily put a seal on it.

"They'll notice us gone." Bagnold said as she stared at the door.

"We have a few minutes at the most." Lily said as she looked around the room. It was large much like the Auror head quarters with plenty of cubicles spread through out it. "We need to get prepared. Everyone make sure they have their wands at the ready. They'll come in and start attacking if we are just standing here." Lily said as she looked about the room once again in search of another exit but all the doors seemed to lead to offices. "That's the only exit." Lily said as she looked at the group. Her first priority was to ensure the ministers were safe. If anything happened to them all faith would be lost in the ministry.

"This would never happen at the American ministry." Todd said angrily as he too looked around.

"Well we're not there now." Lily spat. "Bagnold, Harper into the offices." Lily said, as there was a bang at the door. "Quick, we'll fend them off. By that time more Aurors should have arrived." Lily said as she pointed at one of the offices. The pair ran towards the office and quickly shut the door behind them.

"What about us?" One of the advisors asked.

"You're fighting." Lily said as she looked at the door as it banged once again.

"You can't expect us to-" Todd began.

"Do you want to die?" Caradoc spat. Todd was about to reply when the door opened with an explosion. The group were blew back as they coughed and spluttered from the dust and smoke. Lily ducked as she heard a hex shouted in her direction. As she tried to stand up she faltered in the high heels she was wearing. As she regained her stance and pointed her wand in the direction of the door there was a maniacal laugh heard.

"We meet again little Miss Evans." A snarled voice said.

"I just can't keep away from you guys can I?" Lily said as the dust cleared to see six deatheaters in the sorry excuse for a doorway.

"He'll be happy to know you're here." The voice said once again.

"Thought he had a thing for me." Lily said as she pushed a few strands of lose hair away form her face.

"Crucio!" The voice screamed. Lily quickly dodged only to fall because of her shoes.

"Bloody heels!" Lily screamed as she scrambled to stand up. During this time the deatheaters had attacked the rest of the group. There were curses flying everywhere. Lily quickly took her shoes of so that she could get a better balance. A deatheater crept up behind her and grabbed her around the waist and neck. Lily instinctively elbowed him in the ribs before turning and smacking him across the face with her left shoe. She could sense another deatheater behind her and swung her right hand round with her right shoe and embedded the heel into his leg. She caught Caradoc's eye as he smiled at her whilst battling.

"James always said my heels would come in handy." Lily said with a grin. With ability to move easier Lily got into the swing of things. As she screamed curse after curse at various deatheaters she was sure to keep an eye on the office that the ministers were in. During this time more deatheaters and Aurors appeared. The battle commenced as cubicles were destroyed and various people were injured or worse.

Lily then noticed that a few of the deatheaters were backing of from the battle. They didn't seem to be leaving they just seemed to be backing of from the battle and standing on the sidelines observing it. This did not look like a good sign. Soon all the deatheaters had stepped back. The Aurors looked quizzically at one another unsure of what to do. Then she felt it, the tingling sensation in her bones. He was here.

There was a blinding flash of light causing many people to turn away. Lily squinted her eyes to see if Voldemort was in fact there. He was. In all his dark glory with red eerie eyes piercing into each person. Many people fell to the ground and screamed in pain, as Voldemort stood tall.

"You have something I want." His waxy voice gnarled. "Give him to me." Voldemort said as his eyes travelled the groups of faces. More people fell to the ground in pain as various deatheaters shouted curses. Voldemort's eyes landed on Lily who had been able to stand strong.

"Miss Evans, we meet again." Voldemort growled.

"Third times a charm." Lily said as she kept her strong stance. She could feel the pain that Voldemort was imposing upon her. But she would not succumb to it. She'd had worse done to her after all.

"Hand Mister Harper over." Voldemort said as he took a step towards Lily.

"Finders keepers." Lily spat before quickly throwing a curse towards Voldemort but it had been easily deflected.

"Play nice Miss Evans." Voldemort said. Then the air changed once again and Voldemort felt it. He sniffed the air and growled. "We have a visitor." Voldemort said as he took a step back from Lily. There was another explosion as deatheaters flew away from the door. Everyone looked up to see Dumbledore with a group of men in the large hole that had once been the doorway. Lily picked out one familiar face amongst the group of men. It gave her new-found courage to fight and that's what she did. The deatheaters had landed amongst the Aurors and it took no time for the battle to commence once again. Lily was keen to get fighting again after all she still had a shoe left to embed into somebody. The battle seemed to commence around Dumbledore and Voldemort.

"It's not time for us yet." Voldemort said as he fixated his gaze upon Dumbledore.

"Soon Tom." Dumbledore said with a nod of his head.

"Soon." Voldemort said as he pulled out his wand. "Imperius!" He yelled. Instead of aiming at Dumbledore it hit one of the Aurors square on the back.

"Avada Kedavra!" A voice screamed. It bounced of off Voldemorts protective shield and crashed into the ceiling above causing wood and plaster to fall to the ground. Everybody stopped what he or she had been doing to see what the explosion had been. If it had been a humorous occasion people would have laughed at the funny positions they were caught in. An auror had a deatheater in a headlock as another auror was on a deatheaters back trying to remove his wand from the deatheaters mouth. Voldemort looked towards the source of the curse. His eyes travelled upon James.

"That's not going to kill me." Voldemort growled.

"I know that now." James said, as he stood strong. Voldemort raised his wand towards James. Lily did the first thing that came to her mind. She raised her arm and through her shoe at Voldemort. She knew it wouldn't hit him but it would be a distraction from James. It bounced of off Voldemorts protective shield and hit a deatheater in the leg. From the way the deatheater had been limping it seemed to have been the same deatheater she had hit before. Voldemort turned to Lily with a smirk.

"That won't save him or any of them." Voldemort said before turning back to Dumbledore. "Soon." He said before there was another flash of light and he vanished. The deatheaters had taken this distraction to flee the scene. But some were not so lucky to escape.

Silence ensued as the people left in the room looked around at the havoc that had been caused. Everyone had been scattered throughout the large room. There didn't look to be a cubicle still intact. Many people were injured and a handful had been killed in the line of duty. There were also three deatheaters who had been killed. Their faces would be spread across the Daily Prophet the next morning and declared as traitors. Lily used the last of her strength to walk towards the office that Bagnold and Harper were trapped in. She banged twice on the door before it opened.

"Oh dear." These were Bagnold's first words. Lily leaned against the wall and bowed her head before taking a deep breath. She then closed her eyes and leaned her head against the wall. "Are they gone?" Bagnold asked.

"You are safe now Millicent, they have gone." Dumbledore reassured. "We need to get the injured treated." Dumbledore said he walked towards a person holding their side. He took their arm and put it around his shoulder. Many people did the same thing that Dumbledore had done and helped those that needed help. Lily felt somebody touch her head. She opened her eyes to see James standing in front of her with blood on his hand.

"You're bleeding." James stated as he looked at his hand. Lily touched his cheek were there was a gash.

"So are you." Lily said as she showed him her hand. Lily sighed and looked at the ground. "You weren't there when I came home." Lily said quietly as she looked back up at James.

"You had left." James said.

"I'm sorry." Lily said as she looked back at the ground.

"Lets get that cut checked out." James said. Lily looked up and nodded her head.

Another Chapter up. Not many more left in this story I think but don't mourn/rejoice just yet because there is a third in the sequence. Chapters should hopefully pop out an awful lot quicker now that I have finished school. Summer time woohoo! I'm going on holiday in 3 weeks and 6 days woohoo without parental supervision! Girls only holiday! Woohoo! Anyway I have thank you's to write!

**Galit** Thanks for reviewing. Sorry I haven't updated Forever and beyond there have been some complications with that but I do hope to have that up soon.

**Sunlitmist **It does seem out of Lily's character but she is after all an insecure woman. If anyone has ever been in Lily's situation they would know what it's like to feel insecure about how their partner feels about them.

**Jessie** Sorry it took forever to get this up!Snazzysnez It's so like friends. Everyone is ending up with everyone lol. But that's just life!

**Iluvromnce** Sorry it took forever to get this chapter up.Weird-and-wonderful Lily and James will end up together we all know the outcome of this story lol They just need to work out the kinks first lol

**GracefulDancer** I hope you like the twists and turns in this chapter. It wasn't really how I expected it to go. In fact none of my chapters seem to go they way I expect them too lol

**Lily-900121 **Todd is a jackass I hope I portrayed that well in this chapter lol

**Charlotte** I wish I had of went to my formal with just a bunch of girls. We would have had the best of fun ah well it's nearly a year ago now lol and I haven't seen my date since lol**Alatariel Linwe Narmolanya** wow long name lol It will be explained why Lily didn't listen in the next chapter. She wasn't being a bitch just being insecure.

**Canadianphoenix** Lily's behaviour will be explained in the next chapter don't worry!

**Hope09** I'm glad you like the stories. There have been a few complications with Forever and Beyond. But I'm in the process of working it out. I think the release of the next HP book will kick my arse into gear lol

**Wizmunkee006** Finally somebody who see that the pair are insecure lol They'll sort themselves out soon don't worry.

**Bananaslugg** See I updated about time too!

So there! It's up! And I hope the next one is up within the next few weeks but with work and partying who knows. Anyway please read and review!

Eimear


	8. Chapter 8

Hey everyone I'm so sorry this has been so long in the making. What happened? I hear you ask, well first this chapter was completely different to what it is now and ur all very lucky that I lost it somehow cus I really like this chapter it's dark and twisted sort of just how I like it lol I hope this is up to everyone's standards even though it is over 2 years due. But what ya goona do? Life Happens lol Read and enjoy, and review if u feel like it thanks. Oh and I must warn u I am sure this is full of grammar and spelling errors but I haven't even read over it I literally just finished it and wanted to get it up for those that are still hopfully waiting for it. So please try and ignore the wee errors.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing that you find familiar from the Harry Potter books as that is all JK Rowlings creation not mine. The only thing that is mine is the story idea.

**Chapter 8**

A medical station was set up in the Atrium for those that weren't that badly injured. When Lily and James had got to the atrium they saw many people in small groups talking about what had happened. From one of the groups Hestia walked over to Lily and James.

"Lily are you ok?" Hestia asked as she saw the gash on Lily's face.

"Yeah I'm fine. It's just a cut." Lily said with a shrug. "I'm going to get it checked out." Lily said as she looked at James. He nodded his head and watched her walk towards the medical station.

"Are you ok?" Hestia asked James as she looked at him. He had blood over his robes and some black marks on his face.

"Yeah I'm fine." James said with a shrug.

"Is it true she threw a shoe at him?" Hestia said with a smirk. James smiled and nodded as he continued to watch Lily being treated by a healer. "Have the pair of you made up yet?" Hestia asked quizzically. James looked at her unexpectedly. "She came round last night in floods of tears. She was quite distressed about your argument." Hestia said as she looked at Lily.

"I don't really want to talk about this now." James said cautiously.

"Sorry." Hestia said realising she had been a bit to forward. "Its just I know." Hestia said looking at him knowingly.

"Know what?" James said looking at her curiously.

"What you've got hidden in your sock drawer." Hestia said as she raised her eyebrows. A shocked look washed over James's face

"Umm uh uh … those aren't mine. They are umm Sirius's." James stammered.

"Not that you idiot." Hestia said with a role of her eyes. "I'm talking about the ring." Hestia said causing James to nod in acknowledgement.

"The ring." James said repeating Hestia's words. "How do you know about that?" James asked curiously.

"I just do." Hestia said with a mischievous smile.

"Who told you? Was it Sirius? He always did have a soft spot for you." James said with a shake of his head. "Lily doesn't know does she?" James asked worriedly.

"No don't worry she doesn't. And what do you mean Sirius has a soft spot for me?" Hestia asked intriguingly. James ignored her question and looked towards Lily who was talking to Caradoc.

"Look don't mention anything to her ok?" James pleaded.

"Of course not, James. But do it soon, put the girl out of her misery." Hestia said with a laugh. "There are only so many times a girl can put herself in danger for the man she loves." Hestia added before leaving James to his thoughts.

James did love Lily. And he knew she loved him just as much. The pair of them had been through so much already. Lily had faced Voldemort three times already. James could not think of anyone else who had done that and survived to tell the tale. James had only faced him twice and he hoped there would not be a third time. Lily was such a strong person; it killed him inside to see the walls Lily had to put up to portray her strength. He knew that deep inside Lily was a scared little girl. He didn't think any less of her for this, if anything he loved her more. Deep inside James was just a scared little boy who wished he was back at Hogwarts were life was so much easier. But for Lily he was strong. All he wanted to do was to hide her away until this war was over.

"What are you so deep in thought about?" Lily asked interrupting his pensiveness. James looked up at her and shook his head.

"Nothing. It's just been a long day." James said with a grim smile. "You all cleared up?" James asked.

"Yeah I'm all free to go. Caradoc said he would sort things out. I'm not feeling so great from the potion they give me." Lily said as she rubbed her face.

"You must be tired. I'll take you home. Just let me square some things up with Frank first." James said.

"No look, James I –" Lily began.

"I don't want you at home alone." James said as he interrupted Lily. "Wait here I'll be back in a moment." James said before walking towards a group of men.

Lily sighed as he walked away. She loved James so much. She would do anything for him like throw a shoe at the evilest wizard in the world. That shows dedication to a man. Lily just hoped that James knew her feelings for him. He meant so much to her. She had the option of having a safe life away from this war. But she could never bring herself to choose that option. Not for the reason that she could help save innocent lives or that she could help put an end to the war. Lily's reason for staying was quite simple. Lily Evans was madly in love with James Potter. That was her reason. There was no better reason to put oneself in near death situations than for love. Lily broke out of her reverie as James walked towards her.

"Let's go home." James wearily as he reached Lily's side. Anti-disapparation jinxes were set up for the time being to ensure no more attacks happened during the ministry's weakened state. Lily and James queued by the fire places so they could floo home. After ten minutes of waiting the pair finally got home. The house was warm with the sun shining through the living room window. Lily sighed and walked towards the window wishing that the sunshine would flood her with warmth.

"I'm going to go for a shower." James said as he left the room. Lily watched him go then sighed again. It had been such a long day and all she wanted to do was crawl into bed with a good book. She walked into the kitchen and put the kettle on with a flick of her wand. Once the kettle had boiled she pored two cups of tea and brought them upstairs to the room she shared with James. She sat the cups down on the bedside cabinet and walked towards her wardrobe. She moved aside some clothes in search for her favourite jogging bottoms and a t-shirt. As she was pulling of her robes James walked out of their adjoined bathroom, he stopped in his tracks as he caught sight of Lily in just her underwear. Lily peered over her shoulder and caught sight of James watching her.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked as she turned to him fully.

"Nothing." James said with a shake of his head causing few droplet of water to fall from his wet hair. "You know you're beautiful don't you?" James asked as he walked towards Lily. Lily just shrugged and looked at the ground. James put his hands on her hips and looked deep into her eyes before leaning in to kiss her. His kiss got more passionate before Lily pulled away from him.

"James I need to get a shower I feel disgusting." Lily said with a small smile. James grinned and shook his head.

"No." James simply said before kissing her again causing Lily to giggle against his kiss.

Later that evening Lily was cooking her and James some dinner as a ministry owl appeared at the kitchen window. She opened the window and allowed it to fly in and perch on top of the kitchen table making James to look away from the newspaper. He took the letter and read it before scribbling something on a separate piece of parchment and attaching it to the ministry owl. It flew back out the opened window and into the night sky.

"Work as normal in the morning." James said as he went back to reading the newspaper.

"I think we need a holiday." Lily said with a smile as she stirred a pot. "Do you think China would be nice this time of year?" Lily said with a giggle causing James to look up and smile. James closed the newspaper and sat up straight. He had wanted to talk to Lily about this all day but he didn't know how he could bring up the subject. Luckily Lily had.

"I was thinking umm maybe you should go on holiday." James said carefully. Lily turned to James with an odd smile.

"Don't you mean we should go on holiday?" Lily asked as she moved towards a cupboard and took out some plates.

"No I meant you." James said plainly as he folded his arms.

"I don't understand what you are getting at?" Lily said as she set the plates on the tabletop.

"It's been a tough year for you, Lily. Maybe you should go away for awhile." James said slowly. Lily stood and stared at James for a while contemplating what exactly he was talking about. Finally she spoke.

"If you want me to leave don't say it in a half assed way, James." Lily said through gritted teeth before leaving the kitchen. James eyes widened as he realised how Lily had taken it. He ran after Lily up the stairs, when he walked into their room she was taking her clothes out of her wardrobe.

"Lily I didn't mean it like that." James said as he rubbed his face.

"Then how did you mean it?" Lily said as she spun round and looked at James. "I am sorry for what happened the other night, James. But you can't hold my insecurities against me." Lily said before turning back to her wardrobe.

"No, Lily please stop this." James said as he tried to pull Lily away from the wardrobe. Lily pushed away from him and turned to him once again.

"Look Todd manipulated me that night. It's what he does best he makes you believe things that aren't true. He made me doubt myself and you. That's the only reason why I said those things. But if you can't get over that…" Lily trailed off and walked towards the window. "I can't believe you slept with me and the whole time you wanted me out of your life." Lily said quietly with her head bowed.

"Lily, no it's not like that." James said as he walked towards Lily. "I don't want to break up with you. I want you to be safe." James explained as he stood behind her. "I want you to leave here so you can be safer. You've already faced him three times, Lily. I'm scared you won't see a fourth." James said as he sat down on the bed. Lily turned to him.

"You want me to leave so I can be safer?" Lily asked. James looked up at her. "The only place I can be safe is here with you." Lily said as she touched his face. "If that's your excuse for wanting me to leave then I'm not going anywhere." Lily said softly.

"I didn't think you would." James said with a sigh. "I only want the best for you." James said. "I love you, Lily." James said softly.

"I love you too." Lily said before leaning down and kissing James on the forehead. "Is this it settled now?" Lily asked. "It's been a really long day and I just want to sit down and relax and have some dinner." Lily said taking James's hand and leading him down stairs. When they got the bottom of the stairs they could hear animated voices from the kitchen. When they walked in there were four familiar faces sitting round the kitchen table eating dinner.

"We really have to put a magical lock on the door." Lily said with a sigh as she walked over to the cooker. She looked from the pots to the kitchen table were the plates now sat empty. "Sure, help yourself." Lily said a bit annoyed.

"Oh were use going to eat this." Sirius said with his mouth full of the last bits of food.

"No Sirius we were going to stare at it." Lily said as she turned away from him. "I'll go into town and get us some fish and chips." Lily said to James before she walked out of the kitchen and then out of the house. James sighed and then rubbed his face.

"What are you guys doing here?" James asked as he sat down at the table.

"Uh we just wanted to see how you were." Remus said awkwardly.

"So umm how are you?" Peter said just as awkwardly.

"Could be better. You caught us at a bad time." James said as he rubbed his face.

"Yeah we heard." Remus said gently. "Everything ok?"

"Of course it's not ok." Hestia said with a roll of her eyes. "The two of them are being idiots and dancing around the fact that they want to be with each other forever." Hestia said bluntly. "Just propose already and put us all out of our misery." She added before getting up and getting herself a glass of water.

"That was a bit straight forward, Hestia. But I do agree with you." Sirius said. "James put a smile on Lily's face already." He added with a laugh. James grinned and shook his head.

"I will ask her. I just need to wait for the right time." James said determinedly.

"With the way you're going she won't be asked until she's on her death bed." Remus said with a groan.

"Wait a minute you guys were the ones that said I was ruining my life by asking her." James said defensively.

"You lot said what?" Hestia butted in. "No wonder he hasn't asked her yet with you pea brains for friends." Hestia said with a shake of her head.

"Hold on a minute, that's a bit uncalled for." Sirius said angrily.

"No it's not." Hestia said bluntly. "It's the truth. It's your entire fault that he hasn't asked Lily yet. So it's your entire fault that they are miserable and that we are miserable watching them be miserable." Hestia said looking at Sirius.

"It's not just my fault. James is the one that hasn't asked her yet." Sirius said pointing to James.

"Yes, you." Hestia said turning to James. "Pull your finger out of your ass and ask her. Lily doesn't want some big proposal she's already had one of those and look how that ended up." Hestia realised what she had said once it came out of her mouth. "Oh right." Hestia said with a nod of her head.

"What?" Sirius said as he looked between James and Hestia.

"You need to get over those insecurities, James." Hestia said knowingly. "Why do you think he cheated on her? He had the exact same insecurities."

"Right, I'm confused. What's going on?" Sirius said bewildered.

"Would you shut up and let the woman talk some sense into this idiot." Remus snapped at Sirius. Sirius made a face at him then turned to Hestia.

"Todd is a twat, you are not. Lily does not love Todd, she loves you. It's that simple. Now just bloody ask her and stop giving me a headache." Hestia said angrily.

"Aggressive, Hestia, just how I like you." Sirius said with a grin. Remus cleared his throat and shifted a bit on his chair.

"Pig." Hestia said with a roll of her eyes. "Right guys let's go. Leave this idiot to his thoughts." The men all stood up and followed Hestia towards the hallway as did James. Remus, Peter and Hestia said their goodbyes. Sirius stayed behind however.

"You know if neither of you were together you probably wouldn't have survived this long in this war." Sirius said honestly. "The only thing that gets you through all of this is Lily. And the only reason why Lily is here is because of you." Sirius looked James straight in the eye. "Keep Lily here because none of us can afford to lose you." Sirius said before walking away. "Oh and if you don't put the ring on her finger I will." Sirius said with a mischievous grin before disapparating. Just as Sirius disappeared Lily opened the front door and walked through.

"I'll take that." James said as he took the bag out of Lily's hands. The pair walked into the kitchen and James began to put the food out on plates.

"Everyone gone then?" Lily said as she sat down at the kitchen table. None of the plates had been cleared away so she flicked her wand and made them fly towards the kitchen sink. James ducked out of the way of a fork as he grabbed some cutlery from the drawer.

"They just left." James replied. "Let's take this into the living room and put the fire on." James suggested as he lifted the two plates. Lily nodded and followed him in. She swished her wand a lovely roaring fire emitted from the fireplace. James handed Lily her plate and they sat on the couch and ate in silence. After ten minutes or so the pair had finished their food and was staring into the fire. Lily swished her wand once more and caused the plates to fly directly into the kitchen sink. Lily pulled her feet up underneath her and lay her head down on the armrest of the couch.

"It's been a long couple of weeks." James said as he continued to gaze into the fire. "And this is just the beginning." He added with a sigh.

"Do you think it will ever end?" Lily asked as she turned to look at James. She stretched out her legs so that her feet sat on James's lap.

"All wars have to end one day." James said solemnly as he began to massage Lily's feet. "That day just looks very far away right now."

"Don't say that, James. We have to have hope or we have nothing." Lily said sadly.

"We have each other." James said with a small smile which caused Lily to smile.

"Yeah, we have each other." Lily said.

"Lily, I'm sorry about how I've been acting these past few weeks." James said suddenly.

"James please don't apologise. I've been just as strange. Near death situations would do that to you." Lily said sadly.

"Lily, I've made you doubt my love for you-" James began.

"No Todd made me doubt your love for me. I know you love me James and I love you. That's what is going to keep me alive." Lily said seriously.

"I don't want you to just stay alive. I want you to be safe" James said softly.

"And like I said before I'm staying right here with you." Lily said as she sat up and moved towards James. "You go, I go." Lily said simply with a smile before kissing James. She leaned her head down on James's chest and he wrapped his arms around her protectively.

"This is only going to get harder." James said as he ran his fingers through Lily's hair.

"James stop depressing me even more." Lily said with a chuckle. "Let's talk about happier things like rainbows and puppies." Lily added with a smile.

"Puppies huh? Well they're evil little creatures who yap and bite at your ankles." James said as he began to tickle to Lily. Lily screamed and giggled as the pair fell on to the floor. James breathed heavily as Lily finally gave up. The pair lay on the floor in front of the fire. Lily sighed and turned to John.

"You make me happy." Lily said with a smile. James smiled as Lily said this. And right at that moment he knew it was time to ask that important question. He knew that she was the one and only one for him. "James this may sound strange but lets run away." Lily said suddenly as she sat up and looked down at him. James looked at her strangely; he didn't understand what she was getting at.

"Lily-" James began but Lily cut him off.

"Let's go to Gretna Green. Let's elope and get married." Lily said seriously. James sat up and stared at her. He couldn't believe that she had just asked him. After going through it all in his head for weeks she had been the one to ask him to marry her. No, this wasn't right; this wasn't how it was supposed to go. James stood up suddenly causing Lily to move back. "James?" Lily said as James walked out of the room. She heard him walk up the stairs and into their room. It was just a random idea why did he just walk out like that? If he wasn't ready for that type of commitment he didn't have to walk away from her. Suddenly he appeared back in the room.

"Take that back." James said as he kneeled down in front of her. Lily was also kneeling so she could see straight into his eyes.

"Umm it was only a thought just a flicker of a thing. James, I-" Lily tried to explain herself but James put a finger to lips and smiled.

"I have wanted to ask you this for a long time." James began as he pulled a green velvet box out of his pocket. Lily gasped as she realised what was happening. "Lily Evans will you marry me?" Lily stared at James in amazement. She did not think that question was coming at least not for along time yet. But she had known the answer from day one.

"Yes." Lily breathed.

Sirius stared into his whiskey and sighed. It had been a long day and he had a feeling it would be a long night. He was sitting alone in the Leaky Cauldron, there were not many other patrons in the bar that evening due to the days events. Many were scared to leave their home in the fear that if they could easily attack the ministry then they could attack anywhere. Sirius did not care however, he had a wand and he knew how to use it, and if this didn't work then it wouldn't matter where he was. Sirius drank his whiskey and motioned for Tom to give him another one.

"Thank you." Sirius said as Tom filled up his glass.

"At least you got manners from your parents." A voice said from beside Sirius. Sirius finished of his shot of whiskey and motioned for Tom to give him another.

"No actually I learnt that from the house-elf's." Sirius said through gritted teeth. He turned to the figure beside him. He was tall but not as tall as Sirius. He had dark grey eyes and short black hair. Even if the pair were in different rooms you would still know that they were brothers. "What do you want Regulus?" Sirius said as he turned back to his whiskey.

"Can't a person just come to a public tavern and have a drink?" Regulus said with a smirk before turning to Tom. "Butterbeer." Regulus simply said.

"Thought mother would have had you tucked up in bed by now." Sirius said as Tom sat down Regulus's butterbeer.

"She's too busy burning you out of her life." Regulus sneered.

"That would probably hurt if I give a damn." Sirius said as he continued to look at his whiskey.

"Well maybe you should start caring." Regulus said as he took a gulp of his butterbeer. Sirius rolled his eyes and then drank his whiskey. He stood up and put a couple of coins down on the bar.

"Go back to Father and tell him I said piss off." Sirius said before he turned away.

"He's not well. The medi-wizards haven't given him long left." Regulus said solemnly. Sirius sighed and turned to Regulus.

"Why would I care?" Sirius said.

"He's still your father." Regulus said as he turned to Sirius. Sirius sighed and rubbed his face.

"He stopped being my father the day I turned sixteen. The day he tried to turn me into a deatheater." Sirius sat back in the seat he had just sat on. "You remember what happens on your sixteenth birthday don't you Regulus?" Sirius sneered. He grabbed hold of Regulus's arm and pulled up his sleeve. The scar was there but the image was invisible until they had been called. "It's the day you get initiated." Sirius snarled. Regulus moved his arm out of Sirius's grasp and pushed down his sleeve.

"You got out of it didn't you." Regulus snarled as he stood up. "Look I just wanted to tell you before you read about his death in the daily prophet." Sirius grabbed hold of his arm once more and turned him round.

"Look, I can't hold them off forever." Sirius said in hushed tones. "Promise me you haven't done anything yet." Sirius said cautiously.

"I haven't killed anyone if that's what you mean." Regulus said as he turned to Sirius fully. "But I'm getting a lot of hassle about it. If I don't soon they're going to get suspicious." Regulus said.

"We had an agreement Regulus. You don't kill anyone and I get you out of this alive." Sirius snarled. "I'm putting my job and my reputation on the line here. My reputation Regulus, not are parents' reputation. I'm putting everything on the line for you. If you kill anyone I can't do anything for you."

"They hold my life in their hands Sirius." Regulus said quietly.

"Don't play the pity card with me. You choose this life; you could have done what I did and walked away. But no you wanted to be the little sparkle in Mother's eyes. Keep your nose clean Regulus and you'll get out of this alive." Sirius said before he disapparated. When Sirius arrived home he went straight to his whiskey stash, he took the bottle and a glass and sat in his living room. He poured the whiskey into the glass and stared at it. He didn't know how long he sat there but he didn't take his eyes of the glass until there was a knock at the door. When he opened the door Amelia stood on the other side, Sirius stepped aside and motioned for her to come in. She smiled as she held up a bottle of Rosemerta's finest mead.

"Hope you don't mind but thought we could relax together." Amelia said as she sat on the couch, she saw the bottle of whiskey and laughed. "I see your doing that already." Amelia added.

"Uh yeah just having a few quiet ones." Sirius said as he scratched his head. Amelia sensed a bit of unease from Sirius.

"Um have I come at a bad time? I can leave." Amelia said as she stood up and motioned to leave.

"No Amelia I'm sorry it's just I don't know if I'm going to be much company. It's been a long day." Sirius said as he rubbed his face.

"I'm sorry I should have owled first." Amelia said as she moved towards the door.

"Amelia I'm sorry, maybe we could do something tomorrow night?" Sirius suggested.

"Yeah that would be nice." Amelia said with a smile.

"Yeah I'll be much more myself tomorrow night." Sirius said with a smile. Amelia nodded before giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Owl me tomorrow." Amelia said before leaving.

Sirius watched her disapparate before closing the door. Sirius looked around his empty apartment and sighed. He didn't mean to run Amelia off like that but he really wasn't in the mood for her company or anyone's for that matter. Amelia was a great girl Sirius was just a bit unsure if she was that girl for him. In his mind he was still young, he didn't think he should be thinking about settling down, that was James's thing. With everything that was going on in their world he didn't know if he should be getting involved with someone. He did get lonely at times, he missed female companionship but he could never take the chance of loving someone not during this war. He saw how James and Lily's love hindered the work that they did. There was already a doubt about how true he was to this crusade because of his background. His parents had obviously never officially taken sides but everyone knew whom their alliance lay with. Sirius having been their runaway heir everyone was still unsure where his alliance lay, even though he had shown it over and over again. His alliance lay with his friends and those that had always been kind to him. In his view Voldemort was trying to destroy the world that had kindly offered him warmth and shelter. He had left his parents house because of the future they wished for him to have. If they had their way Sirius would be Voldemort's right hand man. Having been against this rebellion he had been a huge disappointment to his parents, He knew that they still thought he would return after his own spell of rebellion, however, the fact that he had never taken the deatheater oath had deeply angered his parents causing him to be burnt out of the Black family tree. They had informed everyone that Sirius had been banished from the family due to his 'relationship' with a muggleborn. Never would they admit that Sirius had forsaken his family and their views and walked out.

Sirius sighed as he touched his chest. He had been hurt earlier in the day and hadn't allowed a medi-wizard to treat it. He walked into his bathroom and took of his top as he looked at the injury in the mirror. There was a long gash running straight from the middle of his chest down to his belly button, almost as if someone had tried to split him down the middle. Sirius looked at the rest of his chest, there were three small tattooed symbols on the left side of his chest just were his heart was. They seemed to have meant something but Sirius was unsure exactly what it was. He should have worried more about it but he didn't. He had heard stories of many a wizard finding strange blemishes over their body and never coming to any harm. He was never one to worry about ailments and it was just some silly markings. He whispered a few words which caused the injury to heal. The gash was still there but the pain had disappeared. He picked a tub of ointment cream and rubbed it onto the gash. He could hear a tapping sound coming from the living room. He put the lid on the ointment and pulled on his top has he walked into the living room. There was an owl, which looked like Lily's, tapping at the window. He opened the window, and the own flew in and landed on the table beside the whiskey bottle. The owl stuck out his leg and sniffed at the bottle. Sirius took the letter from the bird and opened it.

_Sirius_

_Lily and I have decided to go away for a few days. Don't be alarmed nothing is wrong; in fact it is very good. We've just decided to take a bit if a break just the two of us. We're not telling you where we are going because it is a private holiday and we don't need you turning up in the middle of it. I do ask one favour of you though. We would like you to meet us on the 28__th__ of this month in Carlisle a town just south of the border to Scotland at 11 o'clock in the morning. And be well dressed. We'll send you co-ordinates closer to the time. If you need to get in touch with us just owl. Don't miss us too much._

_Love James and Lily_

Sirius looked at the owl oddly as if it held all the answers, but the owl just continued to sniff the whiskey bottle. It couldn't have been as set up. It was definitely James's handwriting he could tell the scrawl anywhere. Sirius went to the desk in his room and pulled out a piece of parchment he went back to the living room and sat on the couch. He stared at the parchment unsure of what he was going to write to his friends. They had explained everything in the letter except where they were going. If they had wanted him to know where going they would have told him in the letter. Maybe James was whisking Lily away so he could finally propose to her in private without the pressure of everyone around. He put the parchment down on the table and walked towards the kitchen to get some treats for the owl. When he set the treats out he decided to visit Remus to see if he knew anything about this. He closed the window so that the Owl didn't get out. He was sure Lily and James were far away and the owl would need a good rest before going back to them. He left his apartment and apparated to Remus's apartment. He knocked on the door and waited. He could hear someone stumble around before opening the door a bit. Remus's eyes widened and then opened the door wider.

"What's wrong?" Remus asked at Sirius's perplexed look. He opened the door wider to allow Sirius to walk through. Remus was only wearing a dressing gown. Sirius saw two empty bottles of mead on the table and turned to Remus with a grin.

"Am I interrupting something?" Sirius said with a grin. Remus laughed and shook his head.

"It's ok as long as it's only a passing visit." Remus grinned. "What's wrong?" Remus asked.

"Did you get a letter from James?" Sirius asked. Remus nodded and picked the parchment up from the windowsill where he had left it and handed it to Sirius.

"Where do you think they went to?" Remus asked with a grin.

"Don't know." Sirius said as he scanned the letter. "Can't believe they just pissed off." Sirius said with a grin as he turned back to Remus. "You don't think … this is a fake, do you?" Sirius said cautiously as his grin disappeared.

"Sirius do not start thinking that. They've gone away to sort things out. James is probably whisking her away to propose. If it was fake do you really think they would send a letter?" Remus asked.

"Remus he's a twisted man we both know that. This day we're supposed to meet them it could be a trap for all of us." Sirius said as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Why would they send it me then? What possibly would Voldemort want with me?" Remus asked dubiously.

"You're a were-" Sirius was cut off before he could say anymore by Remus putting his hand over his mouth.

"Shut up. I don't she know." Remus whispered nodding towards the bedroom door.

"I'm sorry. I'm just freaked out it's been a long day." Sirius said wearily.

"Look why don't you go home, owl a girl and get your mind of things." Remus said with a grin as he patted his friend on the back. Sirius sighed, maybe his friend was right. He could owl somebody that had been creeping into his mind a few times over the past couple of weeks.

"Remus have you got an extra towel." A voice said as they walked out of the bedroom. The figure immediately stopped and stared at Sirius. Sirius could not believe his eyes, of all people that could have been coming out of Remus's room; he never thought Hestia would be one of them,

"Uh…" Remus began.

"Hello, Hestia." Sirius said as he composed himself. He didn't mean to look her up and down but he had seen her beautiful legs and couldn't help looking. She was wearing Remus's shirt that barely covered her. He realised he was staring and looked at Remus forcing a tight smile. "I'm sorry I interrupted. I'll leave yow two to your evening." Sirius said as he walked out the door. Before he could apparate Remus walked into the hallway.

"Look mate about that, I meant to tell you but I didn't know how to …" Remus trailed off.

"No mate, look its ok." Sirius said with a forced smile. "I think I just need someone to put a mile on my face. Think I'll give Amelia an owl. Have a good night mate." Sirius said before apparating. Remus walked back into the apartment and smiled at Hestia.

"He seemed ok, didn't he?" Remus said as he wrapped his arms around her. Hestia tried to smile but she couldn't. She had seen the hurt in his eye as she stood in the doorway. She didn't understand why he would be hurt. He had moved on and was dating Amelia. What did he expect Hestia to do? Wait around for another one night stand with him. No he couldn't wield that guilt over her. Surely he did not expect her to have no one. Hestia looked at Remus and smiled then kissed him on the lips. "Now get me a towel I need a shower." Hestia said with a smile.

When Sirius arrived back at his apartment he sat down in his couch with a grown. He looked at the whiskey bottle then saw that the whiskey glass had been tipped over and the contents over the table. He then saw the bird perched on the windowsill with its head under its wing sleeping. Sirius grinned then shook his head. He sat in silence for a while thinking about things. He really hadn't expected Hestia to be with Remus. He didn't think Remus was her type of guy. Not that their was anything wrong with Remus, but Hestia had always seemed to go for the guys who would love and leave her. Just like he had. He had no hold over Hestia, he couldn't stop her from being with anyone else, and he had never made a commitment or anything to her. But Remus was one of his best friends that he had to admit hurt. He had really regretted sending Amelia away earlier in the evening. If anything he regretted going to Remus. He looked around his apartment and instantly felt lonely. Maybe a bit of female companionship was needed. He stood up and decided to pay Amelia a visit. When he arrived at Amelia's, he smiled as she opened the door in pink pyjama's, Amelia looked down at she was wearing and instantly went red with embarrassment.

"You still up for a drink?" Sirius grinned. Amelia smiled and opened the door wider. He didn't mean to use Amelia but he was sure that she was just using him as well. Their was nothing between them except sexual attraction. He just hoped that Amelia could take his mind of things.

* * *

The last book is out very soon well for me its out in 50 min I can't wait but it will be 14 hours before I get to read it bloody work!!! And fingers crossed the book tells us loads about Lily and James. 


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